On November 20, 2013, two well rested pilots operating a Boeing 747 Dreamlifter en route from John F. Kennedy International Airport to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan., mistakenly landed 8 nautical miles away at Colonel James Jabara Airport. The crew was conducting visual approaches at night in visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and thought they saw the correct airport and runway.
Jabara’s single Runway 18/36 is closely aligned to McConnell’s parallel 12,000-foot-long runways 01/19. However, McConnell would have an airport beacon with dual peaked white lights flashing between the green flashes because it is a military field; Jabara airport’s beacon would alternate single flashes of green and white. Approach lighting at the two airports vary greatly as well.