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

[jellybean]

Cvengr's post is actually two different photos. The top one is a long shot of the building. The bottom one is a close-up of the 4th floor rec area....Click on "more photos" and you'll see what I mean.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

"Stop taking pictures, Wang!"

[mystery-ak]

Thanks for the laugh...LOL...

[grannie9]

Just found this pic this morning. Scary if true.. ;)

[Trust but Verify]

Sounds like maybe we should revoke their flying/landing privileges in the US until they get some real pilots. This sounds series.

[4Freedom]

Thanks, I see it, now.

That deck needs to have a few signs posted in Chinese on it, immediately.

I'd recommend 'No Pah King!', for starters.

[Ditter]

I was on an airliner that had just taken off into big puffy clouds. I looked out the window & we were close enough to a small single engine plane that I could see the pilots face. I saw shock & fear on his face, same as was on mine.

[ErnBatavia]

My pals in Perth, West Australia, still love to talk about the Garuda pilot who tried to land on Highway One - er, um...that being OUTSIDE the airport.

Re this Honolulu thing - have flown in and out of there probably a dozen times; any highrise condos are nowhere near the airport....weird.

[jellybean]

How about "Rearn tu fry!" or "Yu tu lo".

[ErnBatavia]

Has Wang Wei been reincarnated??

[RnMomof7]

When my son was in China 10 years ago he commented that the Chinese airplanes were held together with duct tape..he was scared to death every time he got on one..Well they have lots more American $$ now..but I guess they have not used it for pilot training

[Jonah Hex]

Too bad Michael Rivero isn't stll on FR. I'm sure he'd find a way to blame the Navy for this!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

In the photo, I am curious about that pink building/structure to the left. Can you identify it please? Thank you.

[snopercod]

[FReepaholic]

>>..I live in Orlando Fl and work in a 5 story, mirrored on the outside building, very near to the airport...<<

I see they've "enhanced" airport security by fencing off the parking area at the north end of the runways at MCO. Their reason was a terrorist might use a SAM from the area. Idiots. A terr could just stop his truck on SR528, which is between the end of the runway and the former parking area, get out and launch.

I used to take my kids to that parking area and make a day of watching the planes land. They loved it.

[Vinnie]

TACA airline in South America is a fun ride too.

If my memory is correct, they used to fly cargo out of MIami (70's)

I once saw one of their stratocruisers cross Lejeune Rd. eastbound ( toward the city) trailing about 100' of rope and a wheel chock. They were always overweight hence he was very low. The chock was almost bouncing off the cars. LOL

[farmguy]

Has Wang Wei been reincarnated??

No if it had been Wang Wei, the Chinese would have said that the building turned into the path of the airliner.

[crystalk]

Persons raised under Communist regimes, as well as Islamic ones, have a diminished sense of personal responsibility, of being individually responsible for perfect management of their work, such as flying a plane.

Therefore they should not be qualified as pilots, in fact pilots ought to have to be of Christian or Jewish background only, otherwise no adequate respect for life, those are the only Life- based religions. L'Khayim, in other words.

Muslims believe that inshallah, the plane will crash if Allah wants it to, or reach its destination inshallah, only if Allah wishes, and they can do nothing to alter it, so they just go along for the ride, or crash it if Allah tells them to, as he so often does!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

There was a Latin American airline many years ago called “RAPS.” We use to call it: Raspando Arboles Pero Siempre Arriba!

[ArcLight]

Sounds like landing at the old Hong Kong airport, which has since been replaced. For years it was renowned as the world's most dangerous place to land a plane, and only the best pilots were assigned to the route.

I went to HK in 1995, and spent subsequent time flying around the Chinese interior. The planes were modern US-issue, and I never felt in the slightest danger. But that landing at Hong Kong...wow!

We came in over the skyscrapers of Kowloon, which are built on the sides of a mountainous "bowl" which bottoms out in the harbor and airport. There are all these 30-40 story buildings clinging to the mountainsides. The plane made a radical right-hand turn. Out the window you could see one of the plane's wingtips just a few hundred feet away from somebody's penthouse. Immediately after, the plane snapped back to level flight and dropped into the bowl, touching down just a few seconds later.

Imagine living in one of those buildings, and having to put up with jumbo jets just missing your apartment day in and day out. Sheesh!

I understand the approach to the new airport is much easier, but it can't be as much scary fun.