A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter bound for McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas mistakenly landed at Jabara Airport near Wichita on Wednesday after a flight from New York’s JFK. If that error wasn’t bad enough, the massive cargo plane was stuck there and forced the airport to close until it could take off this afternoon.
According to the incredible ATC recording of the episode, the pilots of the 747 didn’t know what airport they had landed at even after several uncomfortable minutes communicating with McConnell controllers. At least one other airplane, a light twin, aborted its approach into Jabara as the Dreamlifter sat on the field’s single, 6,100-foot runway in the darkness.
