FORT MYERS: The captain of American Airlines flight mistakenly almost landing an Airbus A320 at the general aviation airport in Fort Myers while actually trying to Field for Southwest Florida International.
Reacting immediately to the captain’s obvious confusion air traffic controllers directed the aircraft to the right airport.
The flight landed at the right airport with 25 minutes of delay.
According to a statement issued by the Federal Aviation Administration,
“American Airlines Flight 862 departed from Philadelphia and landed safely at Southwest Florida International shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday.”
The FAA said, “air traffic controllers quickly directed the flight back on course to Southwest Florida International,” the commercial airport about 7½ miles from Page Field.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the operation,” said the agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
Pilots and aviation geeks are talking about the glitch and sharing the jetliner’s track as shown on FlightAware, on social media.
FlightAware data shows said that the plane descended to as low as 800 feet before the pilot realized the location error, and climbed up to 1,500 feet.
The data suggest “there was really no danger,” the spokesperson said, adding: “No doubt they’re extremely embarrassed.”
