Some details emerge in SWA landing mix-up

A third person in the cockpit of the Southwest Airlines plane that landed at the wrong Missouri airport Jan. 12 was authorized to be there, airline officials said while investigations continued this week.

Southwest officials are working with National Transportation Safety Board investigators to interview the two pilots and a dispatcher responsible for landing a Boeing 737 with 124 passengers at the M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport in Hollister – several miles from its scheduled destination, Branson Airport.

No damage or injuries were caused, though passengers reported to the Associated Press the smell of burning rubber as the plane stopped near the end of the runway, which gives way to a steep embankment. The runway in Hollister is only about half the size of the BKG runway.

Southwest Airlines has grounded the two pilots, both considered veterans, and the dispatcher during the investigation. The AP said it's not uncommon for airline employees to sit in the jumpseat with the pilots' permission, but investigators are likely to consider whether the dispatcher's presence distracted the pilots.

NTSB investigators seized the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder – the so-called black box.

Missouri Sens. Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill both called for answers.

"We have about two of these landings a year – landings at the wrong airport," Blunt told the AP. "It's time to figure out why that's the case and what we need to do to stop it."
 
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