ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 370377
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| Date: | Monday 19 January 2004 |
| Time: | 12:38 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-8-301 Dash 8 |
| Owner/operator: | Air Canada Jazz |
| Registration: | C-GTAQ |
| MSN: | 180 |
| Engine model: | de Havilland DHC8/301 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 35 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Seattle, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Vancouver International Airport, BC (YVR/CYVR) |
| Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, WA (SEA/KSEA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight crew was 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 (which was dry), 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 (shadow), 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 touching down on the taxiway.
Probable Cause: The flight crew's misidentification of the parallel taxiway as the active runway, resulting in the flight crew executing a landing on the taxiway. Factors include sun glare and shadows around the runway/taxiway environment, and visual illusions created by the airport surface environment.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB SEA04IA035
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 7 May 2019 | C-GTAQ | Air Canada Express, opb Jazz Aviation | 0 | Toronto–Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario (YYZ) |  |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2024 10:02 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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