- A Southwest Airlines plane was supposed to land at Branson Airport
- Southwest spokesman says he doesn’t yet know why the plane landed at the wrong airport
- Airports are about 7 miles apart; Taney County airport’s runway is much shorter than Branson’s
- An emergency official says no one was injured
(CNN) — Welcome to Branson, Missouri. Well, maybe not.
A Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago’s Midway International Airport was scheduled to land Sunday night at Branson Airport in southwest Missouri. Instead, the Boeing 737-700 touched down at Taney County’s M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, which is about 7 miles away and has a significantly shorter runway.
The plane landed about 500 feet from the end of the runway, said Chris Berndt, the Western Taney County Fire District fire chief and emergency management director. Earlier, Jeff Bourk, Branson Airport’s executive director, said the plane stopped 300 feet from the end of the runway.
No one was injured, Berndt said Monday.
The plane is expected to take off between noon and 1 p.m. ET after likely dumping fuel to lighten its weight and get enough power to take off on the short runway, Berndt told CNN.
The Taney County airport doesn’t usually handle big jets. Its runway is about half the length of the Branson Airport — 3,738 feet, to Branson’s 7,140 feet.
As a result of the short runway, the pilot had to do a lot of heavy braking as soon as the jetliner touched down.
Without the firm foot on the brakes,
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