This isn't the runway?!?!

[REXFLYT]

Ok, first of all this something I am not proud of, but hopefully something can be learned and maybe I am not the only one. A friend and I on a cross country to an airport that combined we have flown into only 6 times or so; all at night. We both are instrument rated and he also has his multi. Well, after PDX approach handed us off to TTD tower we were set up on a nice 5 mile final to runway 25. VASI was R/W, the wind was light, everything was perfect. After a great landing a somewhat frantic controller said, "do you realize you just landed on a taxiway?" My heart sank...My friend and I were shocked, we both would have sworn on our graves that we were on the runway. After regaining my composure I was cleared to taxi to the FBO via that taxiway that crossed over the actual runway. Well, when he said those words "do you realize.." All my mistakes became clear. First dirty windshield, isn't the VASI on the left? And oh yeah, the sun dead ahead doesn't go away with the visor, glasses, or squinting. Right after I told tower the sun was glaring "I heard attention all aircraft due to adverse sun conditions runway 7 is now being used." The tower never said another thing to me, to my relief. The lineman said that is happens a lot in the summer. Just think of the time you pulled out on a taxiway with out looking up, or thought something just isn't quite right, nah. I should have at the first hint of trying to pick out the runway asked for the other runway, or asked for a low approach. I could have done a lot of different things....We were lucky!

[AV8ER]

yeah, there is a story about a Fed-Ex (i think) DC-10 who had trouble with the sun glare at TDD too. He was on a long straight in into PDX 28L and apparently wasnt familiar enough with that area. He ended up landing at TDD thinking it was PDX and the company had to come truck the plane out cause he couldnt get off on the shorter TDD runway. Similar situation as yours....a far greater error than yours though.

[REXFLYT]

Ok, I have told my story, I'm sure there are some of you out there holding onto a story that may not be your most shining moment. So let's share a few, lessons could be learned. I have a close call that happened to me, but I want to hear yours first.

[Denny of Oakland]

Great story if more people would own up a lot more of us would learn from others mistakes/misfortunes. I am an FAA Inspector and use stories such as yours to teach others, if you don’t mind I would like to share it with a flying club in a couple of weeks. I should also mention been there almost done that different airport.

Denny of Oakland

[djschaut]

It's important to share runway incidents so that pilots aren't embarrassed to ask for help or change course. I once landed at the Animas County, Colorado, airport, thinking it was Durango. Both run a similar direction and are parallel to each other and not far apart and it wasn't until I was at the FBO that I was informed that I had been announcing to the wrong airport. First time there. Another time approaching Sioux City in the mid-winter daytime the tower directed me again and again to the runway at 12 o'clock and two miles, but I needed help with vectors until about a mile away--never having flown in. On a trip to northern Michigan for Christmas, I landed at the old Marquette airport about midnight. The runway was a sheet of ice. I had been announcing all the way, but there was a multi-engine high wing shuttle coming in, and he didn't seem to be paying any attention. I missed a taxiway because my Mooney slid on the ice past it--it was just too slippery. On my way to the next taxiway, I announced to the shuttle on long final that I wasn't clear the runway. He paid no attention until he saw my headlight coming toward him at about 20ft AGL, when he did a go-round. Probably cursed me then, but nothing I could do. I stayed right hoping my tail would clear his wing. 'Stuff' happens.

[REXFLYT]

I'm glad there are other people out there willing to share, as pilots we can become a bit complacenent. Pre-planning can make a world of difference. Hope to hear more lessons to be learned.

[flaps22]

Landing in the sun's one thing, but attempting a landing with the cooling vents in your face at full force is another matter altogether! I've practiced landings at KEVB (New Smyrna Beach, FL) in an ERAU TB9 several years ago, and needless to say, my eyeballs dried out on short final. The sunglasses would help while flying the great blue on a cloudless day, but they won't help with the vents wide open. There's no need to feel embarrassed about making mistakes, as long as we pilots can learn from them (providing that they aren't too costly). Hope you don't have to fly into the sun again.

[pjl]

OK. I got a story! Let me start by saying I am a bone head. Just yesterday after enjoying a weekend of camping and hiking in the Sierra Nevada area of Mammoth Lakes, I head on down to the nice little airport where we had landed for the first time just a couple days prior. Well there was my trusty bird, a pa28-181, that's right an Archer, been flying her just about two years now, mostly up and down the pacific coast of CA and oregon and one trip last fall to San Juan Islands, great airplane. So there she was just about 6 pm, temp about 85f, field elev 7,128' MSL. YEA!!! Oh and did I mention the winsd blowing off the mountians above pretty darn stiff with gusts to lean into. Thats right folks I experienced density altitude that challenged my whimpy little 180 hp fixed pitch normally aspirated archer to the test of life (mine and my sweet girlfriend's) At the end of the 7000' runway we were maybe 150 feet up and not really climbing, I was scared, the winds were cross and there seemed to be downdrafts mixed in. The stall horn was talking to me and I thought of a story I had read of a similar situation and concentrated on AIRSPEED! keep it up, and then some I eas shooting for approx 110 mph this was, so the story goes, to provide lift in this situation and sure enough I started to climb ever so slightly once we got up 5 or 6 hundred feet it improved and the positive side of downdrafts, updrafts kicked in here and there and eventually I felt we were safe and continued to climb in a big circle not too far from the airport until we gained sufficent altitude to head for the pass to the west and cross the Sierras. Once we got past the crest and a little west of the higher terrain all was calm and we continued across the central vally to our home field in Marin county and put the trusty little bird to bed in the nest again. I never want to repeat that one. Next time I'll depart in the am, wont buy fuel (15 gal minn to not get reamed by the airport in fees) and will hav completed some mountain flying training. She just got home and I don't want her to see this so time to cut it off. When we were out there so close to the ground fighting for life and she asked me "are we OK?" I lied, and paused from my hail mary to tell her "yes baby we're OK" and finished the prayer.

[1739T]

OK since others have confessed, here's a story that happended about 8 years ago for me. The weekend after I got my PPL.

The early summer day began clear VFR when I was sharing my aviation enthusiasm with my wife for the first time. We planned a 170nm trip to TCL in alabama to get some BBQ ribs at a place called Dreamland. In a rented PA28-161 with a couple VORs for naviagation and interstate 20 below I thought I had it covered.

Weather was the first problem, the cloud deck started coming to about 3000msl, then navigation failed. No, more accurately distracted by weather and some turbulance I forgot, To flag? From flag, intersect radial outbound/inbound?

We determined that turning around was probably the best choice. By turning I got lost even worse. That's when I really screwed up, I spied an airport below it was Bessemer (south west of B'ham) no problem tuned in atis and ctaf and radioed my intentions. Hmm the runway orientation didn't seem quite right though. Down wind call, base and final. I heard nothing from anyone else. Pretty good landing but during roll out a plane was rolling out oppostite direction. I turned off and rolled up to the FBO where the greeting sign said "Welcome to Anniston"

Duh! I had landed at the wrong arport, with no radio calls and opposite traffic.

Since then I've gotten an instrument and commercial ticket, GPS, Loran and my own airplane. And more importantly, right after the incident I scheduled some additional training time to work on navigation.