reducing "Crew-caused"
approach and landing
accidents 

Pilot-in-charge Monitored Approach

2014 B737 wrong airport landing Branson USA

Brief account : 

A B737-7H4 , Southwest Airlines flight 4013, landed at the wrong airport in Branson, Missouri, in night visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The flight crew mistakenly landed the airplane at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, Branson, Missouri, instead of the correct Branson Airport. The flight crew reported that they were flying direct to a fix for an area navigation (RNAV) approach. They advised the air traffic controller that they had the airport in sight; they were then cleared for the visual approach.

Although the correct destination airport was depicted on their cockpit displays, the flight crew reported flying to the airport that they visually identified as their destination; once the airport was in sight, they did not reference their cockpit displays. After a hard application of the brakes the airplane stopped at the end of the 3,738-ft runway, approximately 2 aircraft lengths short of the drop to a ravine and highway. 

Crew-related factors : 

Although there is not much detail in this event, it illustrates how good weather can be a threat to air safety. It is inferred from various other reports that the Captain was the PF.  Because he would be making a landing by visual reference, the crew accepted a minimal amount of visual information as a substitute for the far more comprehensive but attention-consuming information from the RNAV approach they had originally planned. Anecdotally it is also reported that the Captain was making his first flight to Branson, while the F/O had landed there only once before.

In the event the aircraft was stopped on the runway, but if touchdown had occurred only 1 second later, with the same deceleration the aircraft would have overrun into a steep ravine. At this airport with no rescue and firefighting capability, this would almost certainly have been catastrophic.   

If PicMA had been the SOP: 

1) it is unlikely that the Captain would have taken the aircraft off the correct (instrument) route so early. If he had, the F/O would have noticed far earlier that the flight was deviating from the RNAV path. Fortunately for the passengers this event proved to be an inconvenience but it could easily have been a catastrophe in view of the terrain off the end of the much shorter runway. It was probably career limiting for the crew concerned.        

Similar considerations probably apply to the miltary event also discussed in the NTSB alert. 

Type: 
B737
Where: 
Branson
Expected weather: 
Visual
Pilot in charge: 
Capt
Early transition: 
Yes
Go-around : 
No
PicMA potential: 
Major
Year: 
2014
Time: 
Night
Deterioration: 
No
Vert Guidance: 
Available, unused
Both Head Up: 
Yes
Operator: 
Southwest
Fully prepared: 
No
Actual Weather: 
None relevant
Autopilot : 
Unknown
CCAG: 
Normal