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Tower controller described a taxiway landing event during the sunset time frame and landing to the west; the controller indicating difficulty in recognizing the exact aircraft location.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1046515 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201211 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | J3 Cub |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Local |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Incursion Taxiway |
Narrative:
The following incident occurred while the sun was setting. The airport was on a xxl/right operation. A J-3 was issued left closed traffic for runway xxl; while on the downwind at 1;000 ft. I had a C172 join the midfield downwind also at 1;500 ft. I then told the J-3 to continue downwind and I would call his base turn to follow traffic. After the C172 was established on downwind at 1;500 ft I noticed out the window that the C172 had out run the J-3. I then began to issue traffic for the J-3 to follow the C172. The J-3 responded that he had the C172 in sight. I then issued an instruction for the J-3 to follow the C172 and cleared for the option on runway xxl. Once the J-3 was over what appeared to be the runway; I then realized he had lined up to land on taxiway 'X' by the time I could issue a go around he had touched down on 'X' and swerved to the right then back left. As the sun was setting; it appeared that the aircraft was still floating down the runway before landing on the taxiway. I believe due to the height of the tower and the setting of the sun; it gave an optical illusion that the aircraft was floating down the runway.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Tower Controller described a taxiway landing event during the sunset time frame and landing to the West; the Controller indicating difficulty in recognizing the exact aircraft location.
Narrative: The following incident occurred while the sun was setting. The airport was on a XXL/R operation. A J-3 was issued left closed traffic for Runway XXL; while on the downwind at 1;000 FT. I had a C172 join the midfield downwind also at 1;500 FT. I then told the J-3 to continue downwind and I would call his base turn to follow traffic. After the C172 was established on downwind at 1;500 FT I noticed out the window that the C172 had out run the J-3. I then began to issue traffic for the J-3 to follow the C172. The J-3 responded that he had the C172 in sight. I then issued an instruction for the J-3 to follow the C172 and cleared for the option on Runway XXL. Once the J-3 was over what appeared to be the runway; I then realized he had lined up to land on Taxiway 'X' by the time I could issue a go around he had touched down on 'X' and swerved to the right then back left. As the sun was setting; it appeared that the aircraft was still floating down the runway before landing on the taxiway. I believe due to the height of the Tower and the setting of the sun; it gave an optical illusion that the aircraft was floating down the runway.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.