Livin under Flight Paths

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

I don't doubt what you saw, but I do doubt that a C-5 was "mistakenly" trying to land at Stinson. More likely it was only shooting an approach, a common training tactic that they do all the time at Kelly. Sometimes it is a touch-and-go, where the landing gear actually hits the runway; and others the crew apply full power while still in the air (saves wear and tear on the landing gear, and also explains your "engines screaming like a banshee" comment). I wasn't aware that they also do that at Stinson; but the chances of it being accidental are very slim...

Cheers! M2

None of these are military, but landing at the wrong airport happens way more than I would like to think, and I doubt that Military pilots on visual approaches are any less susceptible to mistakes especially when the airfields are as close together as those two.

Wrong Way Landings By Commercial Airliners

Obama Plane Lands at Wrong Airport

A couple of years ago a Continental flight landed on taxiway instead of the runway....

Continental Airlines Flight 1883 taxiway landing incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aviation mistakes happen...

[Chaka]

I don't live near either airport (Lackland or SAT), but used to work near Lackland and heard - and felt - the military planes regularly. Everything shakes.

IME, the noise/shaking from those planes is much more significant than the commercial jets at SAT. I have no clue why, I know nothing about aviation, I'd guess it has to do with the type of plane and how they come in for landing...

[satx56]

Originally Posted by smitty12

None of these are military, but landing at the wrong airport happens way more than I would like to think, and I doubt that Military pilots on visual approaches are any less susceptible to mistakes especially when the airfields are as close together as those two.


Aviation mistakes happen...

I've flown in a Navaho Chieftan, King Air and some little Cessnas 182 etc. Also a Hughes 500 D Helicopter down to Freer chasing coyotes. I'm not a pilot, just along for the ride. I found it very difficult to recognize much from up there.

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by Chaka

I don't live near either airport (Lackland or SAT), but used to work near Lackland and heard - and felt - the military planes regularly. Everything shakes.

IME, the noise/shaking from those planes is much more significant than the commercial jets at SAT. I have no clue why, I know nothing about aviation, I'd guess it has to do with the type of plane and how they come in for landing...

Two reasons, generally the military does not follow noise abatement profiles for landing and takeoff.

Also a lot of Airports have put rules in place limiting the ability of commercial operators to use jets with older loud engines, so Airlines have been upgrading for engine quietness, or buying new planes. The military has not had to do that....

[scuba steve]

Noise from big jets taking off and landing all the time would drive me nuts. So I just paid close attention to the way I flew in during the company relocation trip and remembered to look up a lot while checking out houses. Every once in a while we get a commercial jet in the general area, but it's not loud and really infrequent.