Taxiway Tango, once again

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This same thing happened few months ago when an American Md-80 landed on the
same taxiway..



BAHA

Fan of getting my runways right :-)



  _____



NTSB Identification: SEA04IA035
Scheduled 14 CFR Non-U.S., Commercial operation of Air Canada Jazz (D.B.A.
Canada Jazz)
Incident occurred Monday, January 19, 2004 in Seattle, WA
Aircraft: de Havilland DHC-8, registration: C-GTAQ
Injuries: 35 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors.
Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been
completed.


On January 19, 2004, at 1138 Pacific standard time, the flight crew of a de
Havilland DHC-8, C-GTAQ, inadvertently landed on Taxiway Tango at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington. There were no
injuries to the Captain, First Officer, Flight Attendant, or any of the 32
passengers. There was no damage to the aircraft, which is owned and operated
by Air Canada Jazz. The 14 CFR Part 129 scheduled air carrier flight, which
departed Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, about 45 minutes prior to the
incident, was landing in visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft had
been on an IFR flight plan.

According to the flight crew, they were cleared by Seattle Center for a
visual approach to Runway 16 Right. They contacted Seattle-Tacoma Tower when
they were near Elliot Bay, and were cleared to land on Runway 16 Right,
number two behind a 737 that was then touching down. Because of the distance
between their position and the preceding 737, neither flight crew member saw
the aircraft they were sequenced behind. The Captain, who was flying at the
time, therefore aligned the aircraft with what he felt sure was Runway 16
Right. He then continued on the approach, and completed what to him seemed
to be an uneventful landing. Soon after the aircraft touched down, the tower
advised the flight crew that they had landed on Taxiway Tango.

The Captain said that when they lined up on final approach, there was an
overcast over the approach end of the runway, bright sunshine to the south
of the airport, and a glare on the runway surface. According to him, this
caused the area around the approach end of the runway to appear as one dark
color, making it hard to differentiate between Runway 16 Right and Taxiway
Tango. He further stated that he had been into Seattle-Tacoma Airport many
times before, and was aware of the large "X" just off the north end of
Taxiway Tango. But, according to the Captain, because of the contrast
between the runway glare and the dark area around the approach end, he did
not notice that he had flown over the "X" just prior to touchdown.

In a later discussion with the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC), the Captain
stated that it was his opinion that lights on the aforementioned "X" and
spaced-interval visual clues painted on the taxiway would probably have
alerted him to the misidentification of the landing surface in time to
execute a safe go-around.

Index for Jan2004 <http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/AccList.asp?month=1&year=2004>
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