This frame grab provided by KSPR-TV shows a Southwest Airlines flight that was scheduled to arrive Sunday Jan. 12, 2014, at Branson Airport in southwest Missouri instead landed at an airport 7 miles north — with a runway about half the size of the intended destination. (AP Photo/KSPR-TV)
January 12, 2014 - 8:20 PM
BRANSON, Mo. - A Southwest Airlines flight that was supposed to land at Branson Airport has instead landed at a smaller airport just outside of the southwest Missouri town.
Southwest Airlines said late Sunday in a statement that Flight 4013 was scheduled to go from Chicago's Midway International Airport to Branson Airport. Southwest said the Boeing 737-700 instead landed 15 kilometres north at Taney County Airport. It is also known as M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport.
Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said there were 124 passengers and five crew members on the flight. He also said the landing was "uneventful."
The flight was scheduled to go from Chicago to Branson, and then on to Dallas' Love Field. Hawkins said another plane was landing at the Branson Airport around 10 p.m. to take the passengers to Dallas.
The website for M. Graham Clark Airport says its longest runway is 3,738 feet (1.1 kilometres). Branson Airport's website says its runway is 7,140 feet (2.2 kilometres) long.
The Taney County Sheriff's Office referred all calls to M. Graham Clark Airport. Messages left for comment from M. Graham Clark Airport were not immediately returned.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro says the agency is investigating the incident.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014