Japanese authorities are investigating an incident on 6 January in which a Korean Air (KAL) Boeing 737-900 landed on a 30m (98ft)-wide taxiway rather than on a runway.
A KAL spokeswoman in Seoul confirms the 737-900 landed on the 30m-wide taxiway, parallel to the runway, at Akita airport in the north of Japan’s main island.
It was a scheduled flight from Seoul Incheon to Akita and it was “raining at the time”, says the spokeswoman for the SkyTeam alliance carrier, who is unable to confirm the accuracy of Japanese news reports that quote the aircraft’s captain as admitting the incident was due to pilot error.
There was no damage to the aircraft and no injuries to the 124 passengers and eight crew on board, says the spokeswoman, adding that the Japanese authorities are now investigating.
She says the Japanese authorities took the pilots in for questioning after the aircraft landed at 12:30 on 6 January.
This meant passengers scheduled to board the Akita-Seoul Incheon flight later that same day were instead taken to Tokyo’s Haneda airport and caught KAL’s shuttle service to Seoul Gimpo, she adds
Source: FlightGlobal.com
