Sunshine
Trust the pie.
- Dec 17, 2009
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A Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago's Midway International Airport was scheduled to land Sunday night at Branson Airport in southwest Missouri. Instead, the Boeing 737-700 touched down at Taney County's M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, which is about 7 miles away and has a significantly shorter runway.
The plane is expected to take off between noon and 1 p.m. ET after likely dumping fuel to lighten its weight and get enough power to take off on the short runway, Berndt told CNN.
The Taney County airport doesn't usually handle big jets. Its runway is about half the length of the Branson Airport -- 3,738 feet, to Branson's 7,140 feet.
As a result of the short runway, the pilot had to do a lot of heavy braking as soon as the jetliner touched down.
Without the firm foot on the brakes, the plane could have overshot the end of the runway, tumbled down an embankment and onto U.S. Highway 65.
Southwest Airlines plane lands at wrong Missouri airport - CNN.com
If I were a passenger, I think I would just rent a car and drive the rest of the way. According to the article, it isn't but about 7 miles to the correct place.