LINED UP FOR LNDG ON WRONG RWY.

Date: 1995-02 · Aircraft: B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model

Anomalies: deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|other-unspecified

Synopsis

LINED UP FOR LNDG ON WRONG RWY.

Narrative

IT (THE VFR LNDG ON THE WRONG RWY) DIDN'T HAPPEN; BUT I NOW HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW QUICKLY THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT THEM. MY STORY BEGINS WITH THE FAMOUS VFR APCH AT NIGHT TO AN ARPT (PDX) INTO WHICH I HAVEN'T FLOWN FOR A WHILE. WE ARRIVED FROM THE S (SFO) AND WERE BEING VECTORED FAIRLY CLOSE IN AND FAIRLY HIGH. I WAS TRYING TO KEEP MY SPD REASONABLY HIGH SO AS NOT TO BE VERY MUCH BEHIND SCHEDULE. THE 757 OF COURSE IS NOT KNOWN FOR ITS CAPABILITY TO SLOW DOWN AND/OR DSND VERY AGGRESSIVELY. UPON BEING GIVEN THE CHOICE I CHOSE RWY 10L TO MINIMIZE TAXI TIME. THIS WAS INSERTED INTO THE FMS. THE ILS FOR RWY 28R WAS TUNED. THE APCH LIGHT CONFIGN FOR BOTH RWYS WAS BRIEFED. IN SUMMARY WE DID ALL THE RIGHT STUFF IN PREPARATION. UPON RECEIVING CLRNC FOR THE APCH I ROLLED IN USING THE POS PREDICTORS ON THE MAP AND LAID THEM TANGENT TO THE EXTENDED CTRLINE OF RWY 10L WHILE CONTINUING TO CONFIGURE THE AIRPLANE. I KNEW I WAS PUSHING IT SOMEWHAT BUT NOT TO THE POINT THAT IT WOULD BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR THE PAX. ANYWAY; WHEN I LOOKED UP THERE WAS A RWY (10R) OUT THERE AND NATURALLY I WENT FOR IT! THE FACT THAT I WAS HIGHER THAN I THOUGHT TRIGGERED THE WRONG RESPONSE OF GETTING 'DIRTY;' ETC; RATHER THAN RESOLVING THE CONFLICT. LUCKILY THE GUY BEHIND ME QUESTIONED MY POS IN A TIMELY MANNER. I MOVED OVER AND LANDED ON THE CORRECT RWY. THINKING BACK ON IT; I'M NOT SURE THAT I WOULD HAVE REALIZED THE ERROR SOON ENOUGH. MY COPLT WAS UNEASY AT THE TIME BUT HADN'T RESOLVED THE PROB BEFORE THE ALERT. THERE WERE CERTAINLY PLENTY OF CLUES. WE WERE TOO HIGH FOR THIS RWY IN FRONT OF US COMPARED TO WHAT THE DME; ETC INDICATED. THE WRONG APCH LIGHT CONFIGN WAS IN FRONT OF US. THE BACK COURSE LOC WAS NOT CTRED. I PROBABLY HAD THE WRONG MAP SCALE IN FRONT OF ME THUS MINIMIZING THE OFFSET. IN SUMMARY; I THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS WORKING OUT SMOOTHLY ON THE GAUGES BUT JUST 'WENT FOR IT' WHEN I SAW A RWY. BEING THE END OF A 12 HR PLUS DUTY DAY DIDN'T HELP. I AM A COMMUTER AND HAD SPENT THE PREVIOUS NIGHT IN A MOTEL TO BE MORE RESTED BEFORE STARTING THE DAY. NEXT TIME IN THAT SIT; I'LL JUST TAKE THE ILS AND ACCEPT THE LONGER TAXI TIME. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 296206: WE SAW RWY 10R AND BEGAN TO LINE UP FOR RWY 10R. THIS MADE US LOOK LIKE WE WERE TOO HIGH; WHICH DID NOT SEEM TO CONNECT. SOME TIME JUST AFTER OR BEFORE THE OM RWY 10R; WE FINALLY SAW RWY 10L IN SIGHT; WHICH WE RESPONDED YES. NOTHING ELSE WAS SAID; LNDG RWY 10L WAS COMPLETED SAFELY. I FEEL THIS WHOLE PROB CAME ABOUT BECAUSE WE TRIED TO HELP ATC OUT. THIS CAUSED US TO; FOR A MOMENT; DEVIATE FROM OUR SOP'S.

More incidents for this aircraft family →

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.