Runway lights switched off forces jet to turn back
The pilot of an American Eagle passenger jet decided to turn back to Dallas Fort Worth after arriving at destination airport Wichita Falls, Texas in darkness.
After commencing the approach at Wichita Falls, the pilot told passengers the runway lights had been switched off and there was nobody at the airport to turn them on.
A spokesman for ExpressJet, the regional carrier operating the flight on behalf of American Airlines, said they are still trying to work out what went wrong.
Wichita Falls is a small airport with air traffic control that is not manned 24/7, and approaching planes have the ability to switch on the lights via their cockpit radio system.
Officials at the airport said the pilot was tuned into the wrong frequency and could not automatically switch on the lights of the main 13,000 feet runway.
City aviation director John Burrus said the pilot could have landed on an adjacent 10,000-feet runway that was lit at the time.
Burrus said that officials of Sheppard Air Force Base, which shares the facility, had informed all pilots of the closure.
"The pilot attempted to activate the lights, but he couldn’t do so," said Jarek Beem, the ExpressJet spokesman.
Beem said the airline is puzzled as to why the pilot didn’t land on the shorter runway.
"We’re still reviewing the entire incident."
Beem said the plane circled Wichita Falls for more than 30 minutes before the pilot eventually gave up and headed back to DFW where it landed without incident.
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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.
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