An Enormous Boeing 747 Landed At The Wrong Airport, And Now Taking Off Again Is Going To Be Tricky
Now will have to take off from a runway that's significantly shorter than what is usually deemed safe for the huge jet, which is carrying parts for the 787 Dreamliner.
Its intended destination was McConnell Air Force Base, about 8 miles away, according to The Wall Street Journal.
It's unclear how the two pilots made the mistake, but their conversation with air traffic control at McConnell shows they were not aware of where they were. Here's part of the transcript, via WHCH of Kansas:
McConnell: Giant 4241 Heavy, roger, you, uh, it appears that you are at Jabara.
Dreamlifter: Uh, say again?
M: Giant 4241 Heavy, we saw the plane on the radar, and it appears that you are at Jabara Airport.
D: Say the name of it again?
M: Jabara.
D: Jabaro?
M: Giant 4241 Heavy, that's J-A-B-A-R-R-A.
The plane is scheduled to take off around noon today. It will be interesting to watch, as the Dreamlifter needs a runway nearly 10,000 feet long at its maximum takeoff weight. It's unclear how fully loaded this Dreamlifter is, but officials say nothing has been unloaded.
The runway at Jabara is 6,100 feet long, and officials say that based on the weight of the Dreamlifter, it can safely take off.
This Dreamlifter is one of four 747 planes Boeing has retrofitted to carry airplane parts between its suppliers and assembly sites around the world. The jet is 70 feet high, has a wing span of 211.5 feet, and is 235 feet long. It can haul over 800,000 pounds.