Wednesday 11 December 2013

Whoops!!

Giant plane gets stuck at tiny airport

One of the world's biggest cargo planes is stuck after accidentally landing at a tiny airport with a runway too short for it to take off again.

The Boeing 747 Dreamlifter was heading for McConnell air force base in Wichita but instead touched down at nearby Colonel James Jabara airport.

Local media reported that the jet may be too large to take off from Jabara's 1,860m (6,100ft) runway.

The Dreamlifter normally requires a runway of 2,780m (9,119ft) to take off at maximum weight, reports the BBC.

Boeing sent a tug to the airport to turn the plane around but it broke down en route and it is not clear how the plane will leave Jabara airport.

The Dreamlifter is a modified 747-400 passenger aeroplane which can carry more cargo by volume than any aeroplane in the world.

Boeing uses them to transport large assembled aeroplane components from suppliers around the world to the final assembly location.

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