Plane landed at wrong airport due to pilot error
The National Transportation Safety Board has laid the blame on pilot error for a Delta Air Lines jet mistakenly landing at an air force base.
The Delta flight from Minneapolis touched down at Ellsworth Air Force Base last year, which is located about six miles from its intended destination at Rapid City Airport.
The NTSB report cited past confusion as they both have runways that nearly line up, although the pilots were not at the correct altitude at the time and failed to make use of all the navigation information.
Delta’s own guidance for pilots flying the route advises to ‘use caution for Ellsworth Air Force base located 6 miles northwest of Rapid City Regional.’
The crew realised their mistake at the very last minute but this was too late to abort the landing.
The pilot involved retired shortly afterwards and the first officer underwent retraining and is now back on active duty, Delta spokesman Michael Thomas said.
Associated Press research found there have been about 150 incidents of aircraft either landing or starting a descent at the wrong airport since the 1990s.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Skyscanner reveals major travel trends 2026 at ITB Asia
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists