John McMurdo Posted June 5, 2022 at 10:08 AM Posted June 5, 2022 at 10:08 AM As some of you are probably already aware I have been flying on VATSIM for a while, and although its rare I make mistakes on VATSIM (although you would not think it looking at my post history - I rarely post about a successful flight) I still beat myself up when I do. I made a really grave mistake the other day coming into LFPG, two runways in use for landings, and I ended up landing on the wrong one - and it was not even one of the ones in use for approaches, although I don't think it was in use at all at the time. It is a mistake I had not made since one of my first flights when I was coming in to land to EDDM. I just try and think about the video that mentour pilot made about two experienced pilots who took off from the wrong runway, can't remember where that was now. I'm not an experienced pilot or even that experienced simmer really, I'm only human, its only a simulation so no lives at stake, I know that, but I am also somewhat of a perfectionist and the worst thing of all is that I hate the thought of causing annoyance to other simmers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Dammers Posted June 7, 2022 at 09:17 AM Posted June 7, 2022 at 09:17 AM I guess the most important thing is to learn from it. What could you have done to prevent this? What could you have done to realize your mistake earlier? How could you change your procedures and checklists to prevent this? For example, you could take these things away from this: When flying into large airports with many parallel runways, include "landing on the wrong runway" as a threat item in your approach briefing. Double-check ILS frequencies. Double-check runway number in FMS when told which approach to expect. Double-check runway number in FMS when cleared for the approach. Double-check runway number when visual. I made a similar mistake once, taking off in the wrong direction from an intersection takeoff. I didn't need a long takeoff run, the intersection was right in the middle of the runway, winds were calm, and there was no other traffic in my way, so nothing bad happened, but it was pretty embarrassing anyway. Ever since, my procedures include: In case of an intersection takeoff, brief "line up in wrong direction" as a threat item. In case of an intersection takeoff, take note of the direction of the last turn onto the runway based on ground chart. (E.g., brief yourself: "line up is a right turn"). Before takeoff, verify runway number against gyro compass (e.g., if you expect to take off from runway 11, but the gyro compass reads 352, then you lined up the wrong way). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistair Thomson Posted June 7, 2022 at 01:01 PM Posted June 7, 2022 at 01:01 PM ... and read the small print!! 1 Alistair Thomson === Definition: a gentleman is a flying instructor in a Piper Cherokee who can change tanks without getting his face slapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McMurdo Posted June 9, 2022 at 12:03 AM Author Posted June 9, 2022 at 12:03 AM On 6/7/2022 at 1:01 PM, Alistair Thomson said: ... and read the small print!! I always read the small print 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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