The Douglas DC-8 That Landed At The Wrong Airport

Summary

  • In 1972, Japan Air Lines Flight 472 landed at the wrong airport due to pilot error, resulting in an overrun.
  • Despite the runway excursion, all 108 passengers and 14 crew survived with only minor injuries.
  • Juhu Aerodrome isn’t the only airport known for mistaken landings; other airports have experienced similar incidents.

Japan Air Lines Flight 472 had two accidents in the 1970s. The first occurred on September 24, 1972, at Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai, India. On that day, the crew commanding a Douglas DC-8-53, registration JA8013, landed at the wrong airport, leading to the writing off of the aircraft.

Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was a flight from London to Tokyo via several countries on the way. During one of its stops, the pilots landed the aircraft at Juhu Aerodrome near Mumbai, India, instead of the much larger Santacruz Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport). Landing on a much shorter runway resulted in an overrun and the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. While there were minor injuries to some passengers and crew, there were no fatalities on the eventful day.

Japan Air Lines Flight 472

Date

September 24, 1972

Summary

Runway excursion due to pilot error

Aircraft type

Douglas DC-8-53

Aircraft name

Haruna

Operator

Japan Air Lines

Registration

JA8013

Flight origin

London Heathrow Airport, London

Stopovers

Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut, Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran, Santacruz Airport, Bombay, Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok, Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong

Destination

Haneda Airport, Tokyo

On September 24, 1972, Japan Air Lines operated Flight 472 between London and Tokyo via Frankfurt, Rome, Beirut, Tehran, Mumbai, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. The accident occurred on the fourth stopover of the trip.

The crew landed at Juhu Aerodrome near Mumbai instead of the city’s much larger Santacruz Airport (currently Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport).

As the plane was nearing Mumbai, the crew planned to make an ILSS approach to Santacruz Airport. They confirmed with the Air Traffic Control they had visuals on the runway in good weather conditions. They received authorization to make a VFR approach.

A Japan Airlines Douglas DC-8 aircraft.

However, following the ATC’s instructions, the pilots flew over Runway 09 and, descending, executed a 360-degree turn to approach again from the west when the plane touched down on Runway 8 at Juhu Aerodrome 2.3 miles west of Santacruz Airport. Used only by small aircraft, the 3,750-foot runway at Juhu was nowhere near long enough for a four-engine jet like the DC-8.

After deploying the thrust reversers, the captain immediately realized the mistake and activated the spoilers and maximum power to the brakes. With not enough runway left, an overrun was unavoidable. As the plane overshot the runway, both engines on the port wing broke off, damaging the main landing gear, which caused the nose of the aircraft to dive into the ground.

Occupants

122

Passengers

108

Crew

14

Fatalities

0

Injuries

11

Survivors

122

The plane was carrying 108 passengers and 14 crew when the mistake occurred. Despite the aircraft being damaged beyond repair, only nine passengers and two crew members were injured in the crash.

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Not the only event of landing at the wrong airport

While it was a rare event, it wasn’t the first time an aircraft landing at Santacruz mistakenly landed at Juhu. On July 15, 1953, a BOAC DH.106 Comet mistakenly landed at Juhu instead of Santacruz, but in this instance, no damage was done to the plane, allowing it to leave nine days later.

A view of Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai, India.

On May 28, 1968, the Garuda Indonesia Convair 990 pilot had also mistaken the same Juhu Aerodrome for Santacruz Airport. In this instance, the plane overshot the runway, stopping just short of crossing a busy road and hitting residential buildings. No passengers or crew members aboard the aircraft were injured.

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Another airport notorious for mistaken landings is Poznań-Krzesiny military airbase in western Poland. Now home to a squadron of F-16 fighter jets, it is located 8.6 miles from Poznań-Ławica Airport (POZ) and has its runway at a similar angle to the civilian airport.

Japan Air Lines Flight 472’s second accident

Date

September 28, 1977

Summary

Hijacking

Site

Dhaka International Airport, Bangladesh

Aircraft type

Douglas DC-8-62

Operator

Japan Air Lines

Registration

JA8033

Flight origin

Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France

Stopover

Santacruz Airport, Bombay, India

Destination

Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan

Passengers

142 (including five hijackers)

Crew

14

Fatalities

0

Survivors

156 (all)

Five years later, another Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was involved in an accident. It took place on September 28, 1977. This time, the flight, which originated in Paris Charles de Gaulle en route to Tokyo via Mumbai, was hijacked by the Japanese Red Army (JRA).

After taking off from Mumbai, five armed Japanese Red Army members hijacked the aircraft and forced it to fly to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where they demanded $6 million and the release of imprisoned members of the JRA.

The Japanese government agreed to the JRA’s demand and negotiated the release of all hijacked passengers and crew members.

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