Mobile phone lands aircraft in wrong airport

Mobile phone lands aircraft in wrong airport

JAKARTA: Wings Air passengers were baffled on Monday when the
aircraft that took them from Jakarta landed in a deserted airport
after the cabin crew announced they were arriving in Padang, West
Sumatra, just on schedule.

Although the recent air disaster that killed 150 people in the
neighboring Medan was still on the mind of the 130 passengers,
they did not panic because the MD-82 aircraft touched down
perfectly.

Still, they were confused when informed they had just landed
on the wrong airport, Tabing Airport, which was closed on July
21, following the opening of the new Minangkabau International
Airport elsewhere in Padang outskirts.

The aircraft soon took off again with the cabin crew assuring
everybody on board that nothing was to worry about the aircraft.

A passenger, Syahrial, said he heard the pilot tell the air
traffic control tower of the Minangkabau airport that the runway
was in perfect view and ready to touch down. And the tower
controller told the pilot to go ahead.

A Minangkabau Airport spokesman Youhanes Gaffar said the
incident happened because of bad weather and disruption of the
aircraft's navigational system.

"Apparently a passenger used his or her mobile phone when the
aircraft was ready to land," he was quoted by Kompas daily as
saying.--JP