Airport Taxiway Markings Explained

Foggy Line Up and Wait Runway 5 credit: Pixabay It may surprise an aviation outsider to learn this, but airports are among the most challenging places for pilots to navigate. Planes are built to fly, and operating them on the ground isn’t always easy. They don’t have great visibility, they don’t turn around fast, and

Runways

We love this image because it makes clear the confusing nomenclature of runways. Intro Sea-Tac is a category IIIb certified airfield, allowing operations in all but the worst conditions. There are three runways: Runway #1 16L/34R – 11,901 feet Runway #2 16C/34C – 9,426 feet Runway #3 16R/34L – 8,500 feet The southern ends of

Alaska Airlines pilot mistakes taxiway for runway at Sea-Tac

By Steve Wilhelm  –  Staff Writer, Puget Sound Business Journal Dec 29, 2015 An Alaska Airlines passenger jet landed on Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s central taxiway – not the runway – on Dec. 19, the fourth time a pilot has made the error in the history of the airport. Nobody was hurt in the 8:33 a.m.

Tango Taxiway: A history of mistaken landings and almost landings at Sea-Tac

By Steve Wilhelm  –  Staff Writer, Puget Sound Business Journal Dec 31, 2015 For 16 years pilots have mistaken Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s most prominent taxiway for a runway, landing on it four times and narrowly avoiding landing on three other occasions. Most recently an Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK) pilot landed a Boeing 737 on the