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Archief => Archief Algemeen => Topic gestart door: andré herc op 21/07/2012 | 19:51 uur

Titel: C-17 Air Force plane lands at wrong airport
Bericht door: andré herc op 21/07/2012 | 19:51 uur
Giant military cargo plane lands at small Tampa airport


Posted: Jul 20, 2012 8:43 PM Updated: Jul 21, 2012 4:05 AM

By: FOX 13 Staff

Viewer video: C-17 lands at Peter O Knight
0:35

TAMPA (FOX 13) -
Residents of Davis Island got an unusual sight Friday afternoon: A large military cargo plane "inadvertently" landed at Peter O. Knight Airport instead of MacDill Air Force Base.

The C-17 Globemaster roared in around 1:20 p.m., surprising many in the downtown area.

"I see this big guy coming over the top of the hangars there. And I knew, him being that low, that he was at the wrong airport," recalled corporate pilot Ryan Gucwa, who provided the video footage of the landing seen here. "He touched down probably about a third of the way down the runway and as soon as they did they slammed on those brakes. I thought for sure they were going to go off the end of the runway."

The small waterfront airport usually handles commuter planes and other general aviation aircraft. Its longest runway is 3,400 feet; Boeing, the plane's manufacturer, says the 164-foot plane can land in as little as 3,000 feet.

The airport was closed while officials figured out what to do about the situation. There was some concern about its ability to take off again -- the giant plane needs almost 8,000 feet of runway to take off when it's fully loaded, but a lot less when it's empty.

For comparison, the main runway at MacDill Air Force Base -- which is oriented the same direction as the long runway at Peter O. Knight -- is 14,000 feet long.

A Boeing spokesperson told FOX 13 the plane would be able to take off from the short runway, but deferred further comment to the Air Force.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/19075531/2012/07/20/giant-military-cargo-plane-lands-at-small-airport

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqVan6vnIs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlH58BW50D0