National Post (National Edition)
CF-18s nearly land at now-obsolete Florida airport
Two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets preparing for a landing at a Florida airport Tuesday were warned off by air traffic controllers, as the airport closed seven years ago and is now a housing development without a functioning runway.
The Royal Canadian Air Force jets, from Cold Lake, Alta., were in Florida for a training exercise and were scheduled to land at Tyndall Air Force Base, just outside Panama City, Fla. Because of a minor in-field emergency at Tyndall, the CF-18s were diverted to nearby Northwest Beaches International.
The jets began their approach to what they believed was Northwest Beaches but was in fact SweetBay, an airport that closed in 2010. SweetBay is now the location of a new housing development, and while a runway still exists on the site, it is no longer functioning.
Local residents watched as the fighter jets came in with their wheels down before they aborted their landing.
“They spotted, I guess, it’s SweetBay Airport which is now closed and thought it was International,” Capt. Mathew Strong with 4 Wing Cold Lake, told a Florida news outlet. “They called the tower and asked for confirmation. When they were doing their approach, the tower informed them, ‘No, you’re actually at a closed airport.’ ”
Strong noted that Northwest Beaches International is only about 10 nautical miles away from the now closed SweetBay airport. Both CF18s later landed at Northwest Beaches International.