Boeing 747 Dreamlifter Cargo Plane Takes Off Safely After Accidentally Landing At Small Kansas Airport
A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter cargo plane, which mistakenly landed at a Kansas airport that was too small to handle the aircraft, departed without incident on Thursday and landed at its intended destination a short time later.
The Atlas Airlines aircraft, which departed from New York JFK, landed at the Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kan., instead of the McConnell Air Force Base, located eight miles away, where it was supposed to land, according to the official Facebook page of Wichita city.
“Whoa, a Boeing Dreamlifter cargo plane mistakenly landed tonight at Jabara,” city officials said on Wednesday in a statement on the page. “No injuries, no property damage. The plane is too large for the runway and will need help departing.”
The 235-foot (72 meter) aircraft took off at about 1:15 p.m. CST (2:15 p.m. EST) after law enforcement officials cleared the area of curious onlookers and motorists. The jet landed at McConnell within 20 minutes of departure.
The aircraft, which can carry about 800,000 pounds, managed to take off without removing any of the cargo, Reuters reported, citing a spokesperson for the Boeing Company (NYSE:BA). The plane is capable of carrying more cargo by volume than any other cargo jet, according to Boeing.
Neither Boeing nor Atlas Airlines gave any reason for the mistake, but air traffic control recordings showed the jet’s pilots had confused Jabara for McConnell, where it had received clearance to land, USA Today reported.
The crew was reportedly “disoriented” about the plane’s location after landing , and it initially thought it had landed at the Beech Factory Airport before realizing it was Jabara, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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