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The crew responded that they had the airfield in
sight and ATC cleared the aircraft for a visual
approach and landing on runway 14 at Branson
Airport. According to the CVR, the landing was
uneventful and it was not until shortly after
landing that the crew realized they had landed
at the wrong airport. On Thursday, January 16,
the two pilots and a Southwest dispatcher who
was riding in the jump seat were interviewed by
NTSB investigators.
The captain has been with Southwest since 1999
and has about 16,000 flight hours including
about 6,700 hours as a captain on the B-737. The
captain informed investigators that this was his
first flight into Branson Airport.
The first officer has been with Southwest since
2001 and has about 25,000 flight hours. The
first officer informed investigators that he had
previously flown into Branson Airport one time,
but during daylight hours. During the
interviews, the pilots told investigators that
the approach had been programmed into their
flight management system, but that they first
saw the airport beacon and the runway lights of
M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, located in
Hollister, Mo., which they mistakenly identified
as Branson Airport.
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