What happened
On September 20, 2014, a Cessna 172P, registered JA4184, operated by New Central Airservice Co., Ltd., was participating in a "Sky Day" event at Hyakuri Airfield in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The aircraft, carrying the pilot in command and three passengers, departed from the airfield for a sightseeing flight.
During the flight, the aircraft entered a wide traffic pattern to the south. While on the base leg, the pilot received landing clearance for runway 03L. However, due to the visual characteristics of the airfield, the pilot misidentified the runways. The asphalt-paved 0'3L was visually obscured by the background, whereas the concrete-paved 03R appeared bright white and highly visible. The pilot focused on the more prominent 03R, mistakenly believing it was the intended 03L, and even mistook a nearby taxiway for the runway itself.
As the aircraft approached the touchdown zone of the closed 03R, an air traffic controller noticed the error and instructed the pilot to perform a go-around. The pilot executed the maneuver at approximately 200 feet. After the go-around, the pilot realized the error upon looking back at the airfield and successfully landed on the correct runway, 03L, at approximately 10:08.
The investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) examined the flight path, the visual conditions of the parallel runways, and the pilot's operational intent. The investigation focused on why the pilot failed to recognize that the aircraft was approaching a closed runway. Investigators reviewed the airfield's configuration, noting that 03L and 03R are parallel runways separated by only 210 meters. At the time of the incident, 03R was closed for maintenance on a barrier net near the threshold. The investigation also considered the pilot's gaze and the impact of the flight's mission on decision-making.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the pilot's misidentification of the closed 03R as the cleared 03L, driven by the visual contrast between the bright concrete of 03R and the less distinct asphalt of 03L.
- The pilot's focus on an efficient landing—aiming for a specific touchdown point to transition quickly to the apron—likely caused the pilot to gaze at a point slightly misaligned with the actual cleared runway, preventing the detection of the error.
- The use of a wider-than-usual traffic pattern contributed to the visual difficulty in distinguishing the two parallel runways.