Residents: Airliner Flew Close to Condo(747 misses 41 story Condo by 30 feet!)

Herald tribune ^ | 1-5-02 | AP

[Rome2000]

Residents: Airliner Flew Close to Condo

The Associated Press

Residents of a high-rise told federal authorities a China Airlines jumbo jet flew dangerously close to the side of their 41-story building.

Ana Marie Vaisanen said she could see passengers inside the Boeing 747 as it swept past her 12th-floor condominium at Century Center Saturday morning.

"This roar became louder and louder and louder ... and I look out and there is a 747," Vaisanen said.

Some residents told television station KITV the plane came within 30 feet of the building and that one of its wings passed over the fourth-floor recreation deck.

Building resident Sylvia Thomas was walking her dog when she looked up and saw the jet.

"It went behind the building and came out the other side," she said.

Tweet Coleman, the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific representative, would only confirm witnesses reported a China Airlines 747 was involved.

"We're doing an investigation on it, so I really don't have any specifics at this time," Coleman said Saturday night.

A call placed to the airline's office at Honolulu International Airport seeking comment went unanswered.

At 350 feet, Century Center, a mixed retail-office-residential condominium building, is one of the tallest structures in Hawaii.

Last modified: January 05. 2003 1:47AM

[JerryW]

I was in a band that was on tour(there were a lot of bands on that flight, come to think of it).

The big bands get to fly in Gulfstreams and the small time bands get Pakistani Airlines.

Sheesh, can't imagine what airline your roadies booked.

[dglang]

When I was working in Chicago, I was in the landing path leading to Ohare airport. We were the very last builtings before the planes landed. The building was shaking all day long, especially when the pilots had to speed up at the end of their aproach if they were coming in too low.

[Cvengr]

I'm having a difficult time understanding what happened. The plane missed the 41 story building by 30 feet but flew over a 4th Story recreation area. So did it miss by 30 feet laterally, and at about the 6th story level?

[Cvengr]

Picture's worth a thousand words.

[cynicom]

Usually??? Yes, however the aircraft size has nothing to do with carelessness. Years ago, we nearly landed at the civilian field instead of Hickam AFB. Beautiful, bright sunny day. As it was we used all the overrun to get it stopped, much hell to pay.

[4Freedom]

Which building was it? It had to be the building in the upper half of your picture, right?

[BlackbirdSST]

It's a wonder the jet wash didn't rip the thing from it's foundation, I mean, we all know what jet wash can do to an airliner! Just ask the ntsb. Blackbird.

[AlexW]

Geeshhh...Were they paying you to fly with them?? j/k

[4Freedom]

"Picture's worth a thousand words."

Well, at least three.

Tora! Tora! Tora!

[zygoat]

Relax...It's just that new chinese astronaut we've been hearing about.

[Bonaparte]

"...a 'near miss' is a hit..."

From University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center --

"Close calls" or "near misses" are defined as peoples' experiences on the periphery of a tornado damage path. Although people and property on the periphery are usually safer than within the path itself, their relationship to the path is purely a chance condition. These areas still possess important moments for mitigation decisions carried-out by the physically unscathed (and less-scathed) residents, and it is probably important to understand this "near-miss" experience.

[beaware]

I live in Orlando Fl and work in a 5 story, mirrored on the outside building, very near to the airport. I've seen my share of hard turns and other flying gymnastics right out my window. I always have to wonder with all the dead birds laying on the parking lot....

[RaceBannon]

AHEM!!! KANEOHE BAY is a MARINE CORPS AIR STATION!!!!

Plus, they would want to take out Hickam, not Pearl, Pearl doesnt have a real airport. But, there are two airports in Honolulu, Hickam and Honolulu anyways, plus several old airfields that could be paved over in short time to take military airlift, like Bellows, Wheeler, ford Island could take any helo traffic, STOL aircraft (lightweight)

[Alouette]

So Chinese pilots are now training at Saudi flight schools?

[Batrachian]

This kind of stuff used to happen all the time when I lived in Hackensack. All those little jets flying out of Teterboro would buzz my building constantly. Some of them weren't so little, especially up-close. Fun.

[mr.pink]

Surely you're not suggesting that the Chinese fly planes every bit as well as they drive cars, are you? ;o)

[4Freedom]

"Relax...It's just that new Chinese astronaut we've been hearing about."

Oh, you mean the one that used to work as a Chinese restaurant delivery man before he was drafted into the Chinese Space Program, Hia Ai Kum?

[The Raven]

Anchorage Daily News: China Airlines plane takes off from Anchorage taxiway.

A China Airlines Airbus carrying 254 passengers and crew members narrowly avoided catastrophe early Friday when pilots took off in the wrong direction and on a taxiway instead of a runway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

In its takeoff just before 3 a.m., the plane came so close to running out of taxiway that its landing gear clipped a snow berm at the pavement's end before it gained altitude over Cook Inlet and flew on to Taipei, according to federal investigators.

"I think it's safe to say disaster was averted by inches,"

---

Aviation News: A China Air 747 was damaged when it hit a truck on landing in Manila...

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

The building in the "upper half" is the same building in the "lower half".