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Cabaniss Field sees little aviation use, except for the occasional
errant jet airliner. Witness the following May 11, 1997, article
from the Associated Press:
CORPUS CHRISTI, May 11 (AP) -- It was the right city, but
the wrong airport.
A Continental Airlines pilot
misjudged the location of Corpus Christi International Airport
Sunday and landed a Boeing 737 on a World War II-era auxiliary
landing strip 4 1/2 miles away.
"It essentially was pilot
error and he landed on the wrong runway," said Continental
spokesman Ray Scippa. "It's unusual, obviously, but it's
something that could happen and did."
He said the jet, which took off
from Houston with 59 people aboard, landed around 10:40 a.m.
at Cabaniss Field.
The runway at Cabaniss is about
3,000 feet shorter than the strip at Corpus Christi International.
Passengers had to wait on the plane for almost three hours before
buses arrived to take them to the right airport, said Leah Godfrey,
whose 9-year-old son, Stephen, was on the plane.
"The runway was all cracked,
not as smooth as the airport runway we usually land on. It looked
funny, and it was bumpy," said Stephen, a fourth-grader
at Andrews Elementary School in Portland. "After we landed,
the stewardess told us to stay in our seats and that they had
made a mistake."
None of the people aboard Flight
1760 was hurt. The 54 passengers and their luggage were taken
by bus to the airport where they were supposed to have flown.
Another crew was sent to take the
plane back to Houston, where Continental is based, Scippa said.
A Continental spokeswoman said the flight returned to Houston
Intercontinental after 9 p.m. Sunday.
Scippa said the original crew of
five members was pulled so the airline could conduct an internal
investigation.
"The pilot has said that he
thought he was lined up with the right airfield," said Federal
Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig, who is based
in Oklahoma City. "But the reason is still under investigation."
He said the investigation will
include interviews with the pilot, air traffic controllers and
dispatchers. The National Transportation Safety Board also will
investigate.
Cabaniss was an auxiliary field
for Corpus Christi Naval Air Station during World War II and
the Korean War. It closed in 1958 and is now used for "touch
and go" training for T-34 turboprops from the Naval Air
Station.
(Copyright 1997 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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