FAA releases audio recording of confused SWA pilots

The Federal Aviation Administration has released the audio recording from the cockpit in the Southwest Airlines plane that landed at the wrong Branson airport in January.

“Are you kidding me?” was one response from an air traffic controller contacted in Springfield.

A traffic controller in Branson contacted Springfield regional traffic managers to ask if they had seen Flight 4013 land, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Communication from one of the Southwest pilots – “I assume I’m not at your airport” – came shortly after the Boeing 737 with 124 passengers landed on a short runway about seven miles northwest of its destination, Branson Airport. The touchdown at the M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport in Hollister did not cause any damage or injuries, but reports indicated the aircraft stopped about 100 feet from the edge of the runway, which gives way to a steep embankment. The runway in Hollister is about half the size of the Branson Airport runway.

The pilots remain on paid leave pending the outcome of investigations by U.S. regulators and the Dallas-based carrier, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
 
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