Very few people on this planet will step foot on that island ever again. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and I hope the passengers of the flight understand how lucky, ironically, they were
I wouldn't mind if they had a service set up where they allowed a handful of visitors a year to go and learn about and enjoy the island and visit the memorial for a week. It never was a strong tourist destination when it was open to the public, so I can't imagine a line for visitation would be terribly long. I can see it being a small operation that wouldn't impact the wildlife. Would be an expensive ticket, but I can see people willing to spend the money for such an experience.
It's good to hear his update from Midway. In 1964 my ship made multiple refueling stops at Midway on our way to a barrier patrol station midway between Midway Atoll and Adak, Alaska. The most notable feature then was the overwhelming number of Gooney Birds, Albatross.
We landed there in 1970 on the way to Viet Nam.They let us off the plane for a short time. Amased at how close to the water the runway was and all the coral close to it.
@@stephenpowstinger733 Lol!! Isn’t it Ironic . . . don’t u think? A little too Ironic . . . and I really do think . . . but then again , could be a parody . . . Nah, they’ve already done a Delta Airlines parody ! From 90s in living color : m.ruclips.net/video/RljdyXeft04/видео.html
Midway atoll has been a hero before, and will probably be again! Thank goodness it is out there, in the middle of the ocean, for emergencies like this one! And thankfully, the pilots utilized this little dot in the water!
Midway is mainly a launching spot for wildlife conservation efforts. Its not surprising that bird activity is high. That dot in the middle of the pacific had to look damn pretty to the pilots as they got into range though. This just goes to show why Midway needs to be kept in Serviceable Condition. Better to have a 747 land there then in the ocean ( I know it was a broken windshield- but still it could have gotten dicey).
Most bird strikes are not a big deal. Plane engines can ingest most birds without causing enough damage to lose the engine. The engines on the plane Sully was flying ingested geese.
@@beringstraitrailway The birds that live around Midway (and the other outlying islands) are albatrosses. Albatrosses are way larger than geese. In fact, they're the largest birds capable of flight. They'd easily make a Sully situation out of any engines that can fly out there.
I've flown into Midway four or five times throughout the mid 1980s and my last flight there was in 1990. I was flying C-130E Hercules tactical airlift aircraft. First time in, inbound from Hawaii, I was reading the IFR Handbook( a DOD publication, kind of like a AAA tour book for aviation). Whenever I was going to land at an unfamiliar field for the first time, I would study the approach plate and read the information about the field to familiarize myself and brief the crew about the field and any oddities or peculiar aspects of shooting an approach and landing into that field. Well good thing I read the blurb in the IFR Handbook about Midway field. One thing of note, it said to, at 100 nautical miles(100nm) out/away from the field, to notify Midway Base Operations on a certain freq. It turns out, the reason we had to notify Base Ops was so ground personnel could drive along the runway and taxiways in a pick-up truck and physically remove the albatrosses/gooney birds from the runway. The birds will not move and just sit there; they had to physically pick up the birds by hand and lift them into the bed of the truck. When I flew in there, Midway was a Naval Air Station that was winding down operations. There were approximately 350 to 400 Naval personnel stationed there and a small contingent of civillian contractors. At it height of operations, the base had over 5,000 military members and their dependents living on the small island. The base infrastructure was fairly nice, but when I was there, at least half of the facilities were fenced off. The school for the children(dependents) was fairly large and was the size of a large elementary school. Painted on the sides of the school buildings, in large letters was painted, "Out Of Bounds, Keep Out". Of course, the signs did nothing to deter us from slipping through the chain link fence and taking a look around to satisfy our curiosity. The old golf course was set right in the middle of the base and was surrounded by the base buildings. The gooney birds were everywhere and I mean everywhere, by this time, the golf course was not very playable. You could put your nose right up to the beak of the big birds and they would just sit there, not intimidated and not demonstrating any concern at all. At night, all you heard was the clicking of beaks by the teens of thousands of gooney birds. On one hop in there, I had a head cold and suffered some slight discomfort clearing my ears due to pressure differentials. My co-pilot convinced me to go see the flight surgeon. The flight surgeon was absolutely excited to have a visiting aviator patient. He was a civillian doctor contracting with the Navy. He was a 63 year old Austrian gentleman and was married to a much younger woman; he told me they had a child who was 18 months old and the only child on the island. His wife and child were the only dependents allowed to live on the base. He ended up using a large stainless steel syringe to use water to flush out my ear canal. He douched out a large plug of earwax from my ear canal. It was relatively large, slightly smaller in diameter than a dime and 3/8" thick. I wrapped it up in gauze and brought it home as a souvenir. There were very few flight ops in and out of Midway at this time. When we were on the island and walking on or near the runway, whenever we saw that pick-up and crew removing gooney birds from the runway environment, we knew another aircraft was inbound. And Everytime we departed, we had to wait for the bird clearing crew to remove the Goonies from the area. One time going into St. Joseph, MO, we're hit a pelican and it pit a large hole in the leading edge of our wing. Hitting a few Goonies could really ruin your day, especially one coming through the windscreen. It was a beautiful little venue, especially at sunset with the albatrosses swooping and sailing on the air currents. I have several photos and slides from my trips to Midway and my encounters with the ambivalent gooney birds. It was a great experience flying missions throughout the Pacific and to have memories of Midway, Wake, Guam, Kwajalein Atoll and the Philippines. Flying over French Frigate Shoals or Johnston Atoll became routine, but the first time out and back was something an aviator or sailor will never forget.
It's sad that the most important part of the story was only blurped for a few seconds at the end. We need to fund a project to repair and strengthen midway's sea wall so we don't lose it.
Been to Wake Island on the way to Thailand whilst active duty military (USAF) in '72. Aircraft had a decomp, and it was nightime. The boss told us that the island was 5 x 7 miles long. Most of the time !!
You were stationed on the island? I have plenty of questions. Is it like other american bases? What is it like to live there? I live next to Ramstein air base; I'm sure it's not nearly the same experience.
This is my recommendation for some reason. I saw the 747 in the thumbnail, Midway and I thought it was Midway in Chicago and wondering how it landed there.
Believe it or not, this same thing happened to my Mother and I in 1960. We were flying from the US to Japan. My Father was in the Air force. We were on the leg from Hawaii to Japan, when the commercial prop plane we were on had trouble and had to land on Midway. I have a few, very hazy memories of it all. I guess they somehow "fixed" the plane and we took off again for Japan.
In the early 1980's, NAF Midway was contracted out for maintenance and operation to Base Services, Inc., under the supervision of Naval contract administrators. They performed numerous repairs to the facility, including rewiring runway lights and VASI. The SeaBees were also replacing the steel pilings around the island and demolishing firehazard structures at that time. It would be interesting to know who maintains the runway facilities structually today, to insure it's safety for large aircraft, as well as any fire fighting capability in the event of an aircraft emergency.
*RUclips:* Would you like to see a 10-year-old video in 240p? *Me:* No. *RUclips:* What if I told you it was an emergency where an airplane landed on Midway Island? It's under three minutes. *Me:*
Midway ain't that big to begin with. Only thing it's really notable for was the battle almost 80 years ago. Shame all those carriers went down hundreds of miles offshore, otherwise it'd make a good diving spot.
Jimmy Seaver No, the battle of Midway is not the only thing it’s notable for. You’re pretty ignorant of history. Midway was one of the stopping points for the Pan American Airways China Clipper. In fact, Pan American Airways developed the island and built a hotel on it, before WWII.
@e james Sir, there was a Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, but the Midway Atoll runway is also called Henderson Field. I'm sure that somewhere there is someone who knows the story of why both had the name. It could be that Guadalcanal went back to Japanese control after the war, ...after Macarthur left?
Quite the story. Shame the passengers weren't able to do any exploring. In 1991 I was on a military charter flight from Guam to Hawaii and our plane had to divert to Majuro in the Marshall Islands due to an oil leak. We were there about 12 hours. Majuro is a small atoll but not compared to Midway.
I never heard about this incident happening and I don't remember missing any of the NTSB monthly/quarterly reports. Sometimes I do skip over some of the articles because I get tired of reading about the crashes in Alaska and other small plane crashes, so maybe I missed this one also. I appreciate whoever posted this video. Thank you. I also appreciate the Captain's diligence in making the decision to take preventative action and landing the plane for safety reasons. I am sure that the passengers were also appreciative of the pilot's actions.
Midway Island used to be a regular stop on military flights from Travis AFB to the far east. At the time there were facilities for meals and sleeping on the island. Here's a pointer to the island history: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Facility_Midway_Island
On my way home from Korea our Marine R5D (DC-4)landed at Midway for routine maintenance and we had eight hours to watch the Gooney birds.We had to buzz the runway before landing to chase the Gooney's off it.They liked the warmth the runway maintained day and night.
+Ron Stout I've wanted to visit there for many years. My Parents were stationed there in the early 50's so I heard all the stories of the Gooney Birds and awesome fishing. The reef was huge and they would walk out to catch giant warm water lobster with no claws at night! They opened it up to fishing years back after a long closure and many world record fish were caught. I would love to go there but it's 1000 miles north of Honolulu. My Parents really didn't like it. It was so remote they ran out of food for various reasons several times. Once all the kitchen had was Ice Cream and tons of it. They ate ice cream for two days! They had GIANT roaches that would eat through tinfoil. And the birds brought with them all kinds of parasites that the other animals on the island would get. My Parents had a German Shepard that would go nuts dealing with the birds. It sounded fun but my Dad still reminds me that it was anything but fun, more interesting than anything else. It was small too.
+Canadian Donald Trump Thanks for the response. Even military aircraft who make emergency landings have to pay landing fees, at least since FWS resumed operation.
the runway at Midway Atoll airfield is just long enough for a 747, 7800ft long by 150ft width long and definitely wide enough to put down a 747 as long it is not too heavy or too fast
Yep the plane "worked" - climate control - power- water and facilities - ( it does seem that the extended stairs built might have let people get out for a short leg stretch etc. , but the plane had everything needed to keep people comfortable until a replacement could be flown in. There is no terminal big enough to facilitate 200-300 people from a full 747 on Midway. So the plane acted like such terminal. Still would have liked to walk around for an hour or so- take a few pictures so you could say you have put shoes to midway.
Jamaal, Midway, just like Wake Island, and many others, are 'EMERGENCY' alternate landing sights for not only commercial, but military aircraft as well. If you've ever been to either, you would understand why they are not properly equipped to handle ALL types of aircraft. The best thing they offer (to the crew and the passengers) IS A RUNWAY!!!
ClayZ I think you'd be surprised just what is there. It's not a deserted island by no means. There are hotels, a restaurant and a bar with nightly fights or whenever the owner feels rowdy. So, nightly fights.
My goodness they have ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Firefighting) personnel stationed there. That is the driver/operator of the yellow fire truck you can see escorting the airplane. I used to be ARFF and just cannot imagine being stationed in such a desolate outpost.
That would drive me insane being able to get the chance to land on such a small remote island and not be able to even get off the plain and breath the air and even just get a good view even if not allowed to walk around!
I landed at Midway coming from Guam on way to Hawaii for a couple hours. I missed my nice commercial MAC flight so was in a cargo plane All I remember was birds pooping everywhere.
We landed there on an emergency while flying in a C5. Had to stay 3 days. The gooney birds are the culprit to this planes damage as they fly all over the place. I was there in 1990. It was the Navy's then and had a small contingent there at that time.
Over reaction by the crew. But in the risk averse world we live in, I’m not surprised. The windshield on all Boeings consists of 2 panes, an outer and inner. The outer pane is not load bearing. It contains the heating elements and a crack in the outer pane is not an emergency. However, a cracked inner pane is a dire emergency as it bears the load if the pressurization and could blow outward and suck the pilot out who is sitting behind it. We were taught that when a windshield cracked, to first get down low in case it blew out. Then, we would run a fingernail over the crack to see if it was the outer or inner pane. If it was outer, we kept going, inner, we declared an emergency, depressurized the airplane and diverted. This very thing happened to me when I was flying a B-737. It was the outer pane so we just flew to our destination and landed without incident.
if they were truly courageous they would have continued to tokyo since there was no loss of pressure they seem like cowards who just caused a lot of trouble and inconvenience and delay for nothing
I've been on that island and landing a plane like a 747 more than quadrupled the islands population. Btw, the best time to land there is at night when most of the birds are on the ground. It could definitely wreck your plans if you were to suck a gooney bird into an engine.
747s been in service for over 40 years, and they been flying across the Pacific since the early 70s, so if Midway is a engerncy airport for Trans Pacific flights, I would think they would have order air stairs for the main jet used across the Pacific.
I wonder if they have new stairs now, 4 years later since the 747 has been flying commercially since January 22, 1970. That's 48 years for those counting.
See Japan still wants Midway, it was a successful landing. Yamamoto would have been proud. Just kidding !!! During my Navy days I flew commercial from LAX, to Narita. It was a long flight Most of the passagers were Japanese and we got along. The in flight movie was Coming to America with Eddie Murphy and was fun to watch with our fellow passagers. It's still a good memory.
The Government needs to do all it can to keep this precious spot in the Pacific always at the ready for situations like this and for National Security.
The only thing one needs to worry about landing at Midway are the Gooney Birds (Albatrosses). I went in there in the early 1980's and they were everywhere.
B17's never flew from Midway to Japan, nor did B-29's have the range to accomplish that. The Island was never abandoned, it has always remained an active instillation.
We landed on Midway in 1996 for a scheduled landing in daylight in a 747 or some version airplane to that matter it was 22 years ago and seems like yesterday. They told us before we left we were stopping at midway. I have a picture of me there during the layover. When did they stop flights there?
there's midway, and maybe 2 or 3 other airports with long enough runways that can accommodate a 747 like enewetak, Kwajalein, wake, midway will refuel a passenger liner
Well I guess that's one way the Japanese can successfully occupy Midway. All seriousness though, anyone else find the irony of Japanese nationals landing on Midway island in an American-built passenger aircraft?
Pilot did the "smart move". Yes, could have descended to a lower altitude but that's still taking a chance if trying to go like that all the way to its destination. What if the window decided to blow out? Pilot wouldn't be able to operate without the protection of a window ( why do you think it's called a WIND -ow?) just sayin
+PianoMan Smith when you're in the pacific there are very few islands within reach that have a stretch of blacktop runway long enough for a 747 which requires a minimum of 6500ft and the runway at Henderson field is 7800ft
+Derek Wall Yep, that's for sure. A good thing the island was there. I flew a few times from McGuire AFB in New Jersey to Iceland. There's not much to choose from if a problem should happen during that 12 1/2 hour flight. One time we were about half-way there when i noticed oil streaking across the right wing. We were in a C-54 I got the flight engineer and told him about it. We had to finish the flight on only 3 engines, but that was not a big deal. Well, it could have been if we lost another engine. Then that would be time to alert Air Rescue to meet us just in case things got worse. Actually i once picked up an S.O.S. while working in the Communications Ground Radio room. That is the EXACT situation that happened. A MATS flight going from New Jersey to Prestwick Scotland lost 2 of their 4 engines, That SOS blurted out of the speaker console right behind me, so i jumped on the teletype and routed the message to Prestwick and they sent up their Air Rescue to meet the incoming flight, which luckily was close enough to the destination and made it on 2 engines. CLOSE call.
中村一郎 2018 and he's still working. He started at our CBS station as a sports reporter. It will be a lose when he finally retires. He's friends with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak.
I doubt they transfered the passengers over to the second plane And THEN refueled it. I don't hesitate to guess they refueled the plane Before they transfered the passengers. The Carpenter Division probably nailed a shipping crate together as makeshift stairs. ...
@cnwkwang 7800 ft long x 150ft wide. Yes. Read about ETOPS. This will help you understand why Midway is such an important tool to make your pacific trip not take much longer than it does. In fact, its about to get smaller with the 777 330 minute ETOPS.
@cnwkwang well, Henderson Field was designed to schedule bombing runs to Japan for B-17s, It was abandoned after it was returned to Hawaii after the war, I am genuinely surprised of their runways condition to accommodate a bird this size.
as others have said Fish and Wildlife use the island as a center for conservation efforts ( as well as the island being a sanctuary). Midway is still designated as emergency diversion field for Pacific transit and is the reason that the journey can be as fast as it is. Midway allows pilots to still be within the rules for distance to a divertible airstrip while making the crossing. - Also they were half way through the trip so a bit of a lighter plane, auto brakes are fucking incredible ( got check out auto braking systems for 747s, just nuts) and full reversers would get that big girl slowed down.
From what I have gathered, you Yanks should not even bother to vote anymore with all the election corruption you get. Every place gets election corruption. But it seems blatant in your system and when the citizens got together to do something about it, authorities were sent to arrest the ones trying to do something. I know American history. Should the Boston Tea Party take place today in the United States of America, all those involved in the storming of the ship and dumping of the tea would have been silenced and publicly executed. United States of America is known for its armed citizens. Perhaps it may be time for the Yankees to use those weapons against the corrupt powers that be. They are having a feast on yiru suffering and not letting you guys do anything about it. You do not want to become England were only the criminals have firearms. You also need to do something about the corruption on your election before you become Venezuela. Show the world what citizens can do. Do not become like us and roll over to show your belly because your government is becoming a beacon of legendary corruption. I saw as soon as Biden took the presidency that your fuel prices started going up immediately. Obama wanted to see fuel as expensive as possible. He was probably doing his oil buddies a favour and closed pipe lines to maximise their profit. I am sure he got a bit of incentive to keep American fuel prices as high as possible also. Show us how it is done U.S.A. Purge your leadership of the cancer growing within its ranks. Lead us.
i thought Henderson Field was on Guadacanal! i know it is! i dont believe that nobody could think of a name besides henderson for airfields in pacific.
FYI Henderson is the name of a pilot KIA over midway atoll during the battle of the same name. His name was given to the airfield on guadalcanal in1942 by the marines. It is now the civil international airport of the salomon islands. To keep honouring this pilot they must have renamed the US military airfield at midway. Seems logical to me.
When Guadalcanal became part of a new country, the gov't decided to change the name to Honiara International Airport. U.S. authorities then decided to "move" the name Henderson Field to Midway Atoll.
Very few people on this planet will step foot on that island ever again. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and I hope the passengers of the flight understand how lucky, ironically, they were
Agreed 👍 that's an incredible experience
@TitanFlare…..1 year on from your comment the world has changed….China on the rise….You may well need Midway soon unfortunately
I’d be pretty thrilled to visit midway island.
Yep-that would be Incredible!
I was there its cool
@@rebojtube Really? How? I don't believe just anyone is allowed these days if I'm not mistaken.
I was there with the USS Ingersoll DD 990....
I wouldn't mind if they had a service set up where they allowed a handful of visitors a year to go and learn about and enjoy the island and visit the memorial for a week. It never was a strong tourist destination when it was open to the public, so I can't imagine a line for visitation would be terribly long.
I can see it being a small operation that wouldn't impact the wildlife. Would be an expensive ticket, but I can see people willing to spend the money for such an experience.
It's good to hear his update from Midway. In 1964 my ship made multiple refueling stops at Midway on our way to a barrier patrol station midway between Midway Atoll and Adak, Alaska. The most notable feature then was the overwhelming number of Gooney Birds, Albatross.
"The concern for me is that with two such heavy aircraft, the island could tip over" - Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Great comment!
I Was Stationed on Midway in 1961-62 It is Very Stable Hank, more than you for sure.
that was said about Guam, not Midway.
@@eliteclassicdetailing its a joke
only a democrat would say something as dumb as that.....
That’s actually pretty cool because there aren’t many people who, especially these days, can say they’ve been to Midway.
We landed there in 1970 on the way to Viet Nam.They let us off the plane for a short time. Amased at how close to the water the runway was and all the coral close to it.
On Majuro they actually had to widen the island to make room for the runway, wouldn't be surprised if it was the same on Midway.
1970? Vietnam? What were you doing going to Vietnam in 1970?
@@Intrusive_Thought176 Guess
@@johnnicatra570 fighting
@@Intrusive_Thought176 yep
I love history and it's there, what a shame being stuck on the plane.
That’s the paradox a “friendly” aircraft from Japan flew to midway!
An irony maybe but not a paradox.
Delta and Boeing are both American companies. What do you mean?
@Mr. Johnson
You must be a kid.
@@stephenpowstinger733 Lol!!
Isn’t it Ironic . . . don’t u think? A little too Ironic . . . and I really do think . . . but then again , could be a parody . . . Nah, they’ve already done a Delta Airlines parody ! From 90s in living color : m.ruclips.net/video/RljdyXeft04/видео.html
I also find it ironic that so many cars on American roads are from the two main countries that brought us WWII.
Anyone else over 12 years later suddenly being recommended it
That runway and its seawalls must be maintained in good operating condition. Trans-Pacific flights depend on Henderson Field, in case of emergency.
the Us Fed Gov would rather Give out well Fare then keep Henderson field in good shape
what welfare? America is a no safety-net country. Try Sweden.@@dknowles60
Midway atoll has been a hero before, and will probably be again! Thank goodness it is out there, in the middle of the ocean, for emergencies like this one! And thankfully, the pilots utilized this little dot in the water!
Wait wait wait, they're just going to sneak two birdstrikes into the end of this story? RIP birdies.
I'm certain a few more eco birds have bred over the last 10yrs since this happened
Midway is mainly a launching spot for wildlife conservation efforts. Its not surprising that bird activity is high.
That dot in the middle of the pacific had to look damn pretty to the pilots as they got into range though. This just goes to show why Midway needs to be kept in Serviceable Condition. Better to have a 747 land there then in the ocean ( I know it was a broken windshield- but still it could have gotten dicey).
Most bird strikes are not a big deal. Plane engines can ingest most birds without causing enough damage to lose the engine. The engines on the plane Sully was flying ingested geese.
@@beringstraitrailway The birds that live around Midway (and the other outlying islands) are albatrosses. Albatrosses are way larger than geese. In fact, they're the largest birds capable of flight. They'd easily make a Sully situation out of any engines that can fly out there.
I was stationed there for a year. 1963-1964. Great memories. Now it’s in complete ruins and deserted.
I've flown into Midway four or five times throughout the mid 1980s and my last flight there was in 1990. I was flying C-130E Hercules tactical airlift aircraft.
First time in, inbound from Hawaii, I was reading the IFR Handbook( a DOD publication, kind of like a AAA tour book for aviation). Whenever I was going to land at an unfamiliar field for the first time, I would study the approach plate and read the information about the field to familiarize myself and brief the crew about the field and any oddities or peculiar aspects of shooting an approach and landing into that field.
Well good thing I read the blurb in the IFR Handbook about Midway field. One thing of note, it said to, at 100 nautical miles(100nm) out/away from the field, to notify Midway Base Operations on a certain freq. It turns out, the reason we had to notify Base Ops was so ground personnel could drive along the runway and taxiways in a pick-up truck and physically remove the albatrosses/gooney birds from the runway. The birds will not move and just sit there; they had to physically pick up the birds by hand and lift them into the bed of the truck.
When I flew in there, Midway was a Naval Air Station that was winding down operations. There were approximately 350 to 400 Naval personnel stationed there and a small contingent of civillian contractors. At it height of operations, the base had over 5,000 military members and their dependents living on the small island. The base infrastructure was fairly nice, but when I was there, at least half of the facilities were fenced off. The school for the children(dependents) was fairly large and was the size of a large elementary school. Painted on the sides of the school buildings, in large letters was painted, "Out Of Bounds, Keep Out". Of course, the signs did nothing to deter us from slipping through the chain link fence and taking a look around to satisfy our curiosity.
The old golf course was set right in the middle of the base and was surrounded by the base buildings.
The gooney birds were everywhere and I mean everywhere, by this time, the golf course was not very playable. You could put your nose right up to the beak of the big birds and they would just sit there, not intimidated and not demonstrating any concern at all. At night, all you heard was the clicking of beaks by the teens of thousands of gooney birds.
On one hop in there, I had a head cold and suffered some slight discomfort clearing my ears due to pressure differentials. My co-pilot convinced me to go see the flight surgeon. The flight surgeon was absolutely excited to have a visiting aviator patient. He was a civillian doctor contracting with the Navy. He was a 63 year old Austrian gentleman and was married to a much younger woman; he told me they had a child who was 18 months old and the only child on the island. His wife and child were the only dependents allowed to live on the base. He ended up using a large stainless steel syringe to use water to flush out my ear canal. He douched out a large plug of earwax from my ear canal. It was relatively large, slightly smaller in diameter than a dime and 3/8" thick. I wrapped it up in gauze and brought it home as a souvenir.
There were very few flight ops in and out of Midway at this time. When we were on the island and walking on or near the runway, whenever we saw that pick-up and crew removing gooney birds from the runway environment, we knew another aircraft was inbound. And Everytime we departed, we had to wait for the bird clearing crew to remove the Goonies from the area. One time going into St. Joseph, MO, we're hit a pelican and it pit a large hole in the leading edge of our wing. Hitting a few Goonies could really ruin your day, especially one coming through the windscreen.
It was a beautiful little venue, especially at sunset with the albatrosses swooping and sailing on the air currents. I have several photos and slides from my trips to Midway and my encounters with the ambivalent gooney birds.
It was a great experience flying missions throughout the Pacific and to have memories of Midway, Wake, Guam, Kwajalein Atoll and the Philippines. Flying over French Frigate Shoals or Johnston Atoll became routine, but the first time out and back was something an aviator or sailor will never forget.
Enjoyed reading about your experiences. I have even more appreciation of our victory there in 1942. I learn so much from RUclips
Do you still have the dime-sized blob of your ear wax?
I also very much enjoyed reading your story.
It's sad that the most important part of the story was only blurped for a few seconds at the end. We need to fund a project to repair and strengthen midway's sea wall so we don't lose it.
You can start a GoFundMe for this project.
Maybe Greta or Billie eilish or beyonce or merely Streep or Hilary Clinton or any stupid dumb hoe
Don't forget Florida. On second thought, forget Florida. The sooner DeSantis is submerged, the better.
@@Hopeless_and_Forlorn Why? Is he cleaning up too much garbage?
@@easygoing2479 Giggle
Wow! That was fascinating. The island, airport and runway is intact and in good condition. You can now book a trip to Midway Island from Hawaii.
Been to Wake Island on the way to Thailand whilst active duty military (USAF) in '72. Aircraft had a decomp, and it was nightime. The boss told us that the island was 5 x 7 miles long. Most of the time !!
I was stationed there as well when I was active duty and I let a Boeing 747 land there when they had a heart attack victim.
You were stationed on the island? I have plenty of questions. Is it like other american bases? What is it like to live there? I live next to Ramstein air base; I'm sure it's not nearly the same experience.
Biggest damn Cessna they've ever seen!!!
Lol passenger 57
If she moves, throw her out the window
@@visionist7 lol
Digging the old Delta Air Lines widget logo used in the report.
This is my recommendation for some reason. I saw the 747 in the thumbnail, Midway and I thought it was Midway in Chicago and wondering how it landed there.
I am impressed by the way the folks on this island had their act together for this situation...
Believe it or not, this same thing happened to my Mother and I in 1960. We were flying from the US to Japan. My Father was in the Air force. We were on the leg from Hawaii to Japan, when the commercial prop plane we were on had trouble and had to land on Midway. I have a few, very hazy memories of it all. I guess they somehow "fixed" the plane and we took off again for Japan.
Was John Wayne the copilot and Robert Stack the pilot? Did the "Duke" whistle that great tune?
In the early 1980's, NAF Midway was contracted out for maintenance and operation to Base Services, Inc., under the supervision of Naval contract administrators. They performed numerous repairs to the facility, including rewiring runway lights and VASI. The SeaBees were also replacing the steel pilings around the island and demolishing firehazard structures at that time. It would be interesting to know who maintains the runway facilities structually today, to insure it's safety for large aircraft, as well as any fire fighting capability in the event of an aircraft emergency.
I would love to go back to Midway.was stationed there in the sixties for a few years
Why on earth wouldnt they let passengers out of the plane. With 8 hours to spare i would totally go and see Atoll rather.
Their stairs weren't high enough to reach the 747 doors. Eventually they built some wood steps on top of the air stairs so people could get out.
1:56 is your answer
Also because it’s a protected wildlife preserve.
Pilots are like that
Customs? (Even though the island is part of the U.S.)
My dad was a marine on midway when pearl harbor was attacked and during the battle of midway.
Thank you to ADM Fletcher, ADM Spruance, and the USN for making sure that Midway would be available 69 years later.
America could easily have purchased it if the Japanese had held onto it
@@visionist7don’t be too sure. History is a fickle thing.
Amen
Midway SAVES THE DAY 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 A piece of advice keep the airfield 100% serviceable 24 /7. If it man made it will break, and MIDWAY will save the day
1:43 visitor map was a piece of paper with a small circle and an arrow saying you are here
Midway Island is there courtesy of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy
*RUclips:* Would you like to see a 10-year-old video in 240p?
*Me:* No.
*RUclips:* What if I told you it was an emergency where an airplane landed on Midway Island? It's under three minutes.
*Me:*
so the passengers got visitor maps but never explored the island?
Eight hours in a plane on Midway? I would have wanted to get out of the aircraft and look around the area. Six hours in one is about my limit.
Eight plus whatever it took them to get there.
Midway ain't that big to begin with. Only thing it's really notable for was the battle almost 80 years ago. Shame all those carriers went down hundreds of miles offshore, otherwise it'd make a good diving spot.
Jimmy Seaver No, the battle of Midway is not the only thing it’s notable for. You’re pretty ignorant of history. Midway was one of the stopping points for the Pan American Airways China Clipper. In fact, Pan American Airways developed the island and built a hotel on it, before WWII.
@e james Sir, there was a Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, but the Midway Atoll runway is also called Henderson Field. I'm sure that somewhere there is someone who knows the story of why both had the name. It could be that Guadalcanal went back to Japanese control after the war, ...after Macarthur left?
This is holy ground our service men who died in that attack June 1942
Quite the story. Shame the passengers weren't able to do any exploring.
In 1991 I was on a military charter flight from Guam to Hawaii and our plane had to divert to Majuro in the Marshall Islands due to an oil leak. We were there about 12 hours. Majuro is a small atoll but not compared to Midway.
I never heard about this incident happening and I don't remember missing any of the NTSB monthly/quarterly reports. Sometimes I do skip over some of the articles because I get tired of reading about the crashes in Alaska and other small plane crashes, so maybe I missed this one also. I appreciate whoever posted this video. Thank you. I also appreciate the Captain's diligence in making the decision to take preventative action and landing the plane for safety reasons. I am sure that the passengers were also appreciative of the pilot's actions.
Midway Island used to be a regular stop on military flights from Travis AFB to the far east. At the time there were facilities for meals and sleeping on the island. Here's a pointer to the island history: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Facility_Midway_Island
7800 ft is plenty for a 747.
On my way home from Korea our Marine R5D (DC-4)landed at Midway for routine maintenance and we had eight hours to watch the Gooney birds.We had to buzz the runway before landing to chase the Gooney's off it.They liked the warmth the runway maintained day and night.
Wouldn't that just scare them into the sky and then hit you?
+Ron Stout I've wanted to visit there for many years. My Parents were stationed there in the early 50's so I heard all the stories of the Gooney Birds and awesome fishing. The reef was huge and they would walk out to catch giant warm water lobster with no claws at night! They opened it up to fishing years back after a long closure and many world record fish were caught. I would love to go there but it's 1000 miles north of Honolulu. My Parents really didn't like it. It was so remote they ran out of food for various reasons several times. Once all the kitchen had was Ice Cream and tons of it. They ate ice cream for two days! They had GIANT roaches that would eat through tinfoil. And the birds brought with them all kinds of parasites that the other animals on the island would get. My Parents had a German Shepard that would go nuts dealing with the birds. It sounded fun but my Dad still reminds me that it was anything but fun, more interesting than anything else. It was small too.
+Ron Stout When did you land there? Do you remember how much it costs in landing fees?
Ruby Catherine Stevens I think he was flying for the military.
+Canadian Donald Trump Thanks for the response. Even military aircraft who make emergency landings have to pay landing fees, at least since FWS resumed operation.
Love the ingenuity!
the runway at Midway Atoll airfield is just long enough for a 747, 7800ft long by 150ft width long and definitely wide enough to put down a 747 as long it is not too heavy or too fast
Good ol' American know-how and can-do spirit at work. :-)
Delta just opens up.its bars and food to insure the passengers have everything no cost. P
Yep the plane "worked" - climate control - power- water and facilities - ( it does seem that the extended stairs built might have let people get out for a short leg stretch etc. , but the plane had everything needed to keep people comfortable until a replacement could be flown in.
There is no terminal big enough to facilitate 200-300 people from a full 747 on Midway. So the plane acted like such terminal. Still would have liked to walk around for an hour or so- take a few pictures so you could say you have put shoes to midway.
Scary emergency landing in the middle of nowhere!
Jamaal,
Midway, just like Wake Island, and many others, are 'EMERGENCY' alternate landing sights for not only commercial, but military aircraft as well. If you've ever been to either, you would understand why they are not properly equipped to handle ALL types of aircraft. The best thing they offer (to the crew and the passengers) IS A RUNWAY!!!
I think you’d have a hard time finding a vending machine on Midway, let alone any real services.
ClayZ I think you'd be surprised just what is there. It's not a deserted island by no means. There are hotels, a restaurant and a bar with nightly fights or whenever the owner feels rowdy. So, nightly fights.
That air field was at one time a piece of Gold to the Americans and Japanese in WW2
My goodness they have ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Firefighting) personnel stationed there. That is the driver/operator of the yellow fire truck you can see escorting the airplane. I used to be ARFF and just cannot imagine being stationed in such a desolate outpost.
That would drive me insane being able to get the chance to land on such a small remote island and not be able to even get off the plain and breath the air and even just get a good view even if not allowed to walk around!
lol imagine being the mx crew sent out there, probably pretty fun
I landed at Midway coming from Guam on way to Hawaii for a couple hours. I missed my nice commercial MAC flight so was in a cargo plane All I remember was birds pooping everywhere.
Still one of the most beautiful ships to fly, second only to the Gulfstream 550/650... in my opinion.
The Concorde was the most beautiful airliner ever. The 747 is a schoolbus by comparison.
We landed there on an emergency while flying in a C5. Had to stay 3 days. The gooney birds are the culprit to this planes damage as they fly all over the place. I was there in 1990. It was the Navy's then and had a small contingent there at that time.
Over reaction by the crew. But in the risk averse world we live in, I’m not surprised. The windshield on all Boeings consists of 2 panes, an outer and inner. The outer pane is not load bearing. It contains the heating elements and a crack in the outer pane is not an emergency. However, a cracked inner pane is a dire emergency as it bears the load if the pressurization and could blow outward and suck the pilot out who is sitting behind it. We were taught that when a windshield cracked, to first get down low in case it blew out. Then, we would run a fingernail over the crack to see if it was the outer or inner pane. If it was outer, we kept going, inner, we declared an emergency, depressurized the airplane and diverted. This very thing happened to me when I was flying a B-737. It was the outer pane so we just flew to our destination and landed without incident.
God bless our awesome courageous Pilots. Wish I was stranded there for a while.
if they were truly courageous they would have continued to tokyo since there was no loss of pressure they seem like cowards who just caused a lot of trouble and inconvenience and delay for nothing
I've been on that island and landing a plane like a 747 more than quadrupled the islands population. Btw, the best time to land there is at night when most of the birds are on the ground. It could definitely wreck your plans if you were to suck a gooney bird into an engine.
During Albatross season they only allow night landings and departures, excepting emergencies of course.
747s been in service for over 40 years, and they been flying across the Pacific since the early 70s, so if Midway is a engerncy airport for Trans Pacific flights, I would think they would have order air stairs for the main jet used across the Pacific.
I wonder if they have new stairs now, 4 years later since the 747 has been flying commercially since January 22, 1970. That's 48 years for those counting.
Sean Greene
Midway is normally serviced by military aircraft I think. They don't have a lot of tall aircraft.
747's are being phased out by the Airbus.
I’d be exploring the hole island until the fresh plane arrives
See Japan still wants Midway, it was a successful landing. Yamamoto would have been proud. Just kidding !!! During my Navy days I flew commercial from LAX, to Narita. It was a long flight Most of the passagers were Japanese and we got along. The in flight movie was Coming to America with Eddie Murphy and was fun to watch with our fellow passagers. It's still a good memory.
The Government needs to do all it can to keep this precious spot in the Pacific always at the ready for situations like this and for National Security.
Don’t tempt Joe Biden. He may well abandon it and give it to the Japanese.
The only thing one needs to worry about landing at Midway are the Gooney Birds (Albatrosses). I went in there in the early 1980's and they were everywhere.
“A second 747” shows a 737 wing view lol
BATTLE OF MIDWAY!!!! a watershed in WW2
B17's never flew from Midway to Japan, nor did B-29's have the range to accomplish that. The Island was never abandoned, it has always remained an active instillation.
The vastness of the Pacific.
Wow !!!! First time, Boeing 747 touch down to land for Midway island.
I’m a whole ass eleven years late but as an aspiring airline pilot, gotta give props to the pilots.
I saw the thumbnail and thought this was an FSX video. Shocked.
We landed on Midway in 1996 for a scheduled landing in daylight in a 747 or some version airplane to that matter it was 22 years ago and seems like yesterday. They told us before we left we were stopping at midway. I have a picture of me there during the layover. When did they stop flights there?
This was a emergency. Thanks for arrival in this island.
there's midway, and maybe 2 or 3 other airports with long enough runways that can accommodate a 747 like enewetak, Kwajalein, wake, midway will refuel a passenger liner
Going to midway would be a perfect rest stop.
Imagine getting that phone call
Uhh.. boss a 747 carrying 380 passengers made a emergency landing out in the middle of nowhere
There are thousands of birds at Midway and landing is hard except when it's emergency.
And those are big birds.
Well I guess that's one way the Japanese can successfully occupy Midway. All seriousness though, anyone else find the irony of Japanese nationals landing on Midway island in an American-built passenger aircraft?
if they won the war it wouldve been American tourist on some strange Mistibishi Doublewide? is that what youre saying :)
chanctonbury63 k
SpenzOT No. Not really.
SpenzOT All Birds need to die 🐦..
And they launched their invasion from Hawaii no less. o_0
They didn't even get to disembark? Bummer! That would be really exciting and a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Pilot did the "smart move". Yes, could have descended to a lower altitude but that's still taking a chance if trying to go like that all the way to its destination. What if the window decided to blow out? Pilot wouldn't be able to operate without the protection of a window ( why do you think it's called a WIND -ow?) just sayin
Descend to a lower altitude? What's that goona do lol?
+glishskiii Why don't you pay attention and read my "WHOLE COMMENT"?
+PianoMan Smith when you're in the pacific there are very few islands within reach that have a stretch of blacktop runway long enough for a 747 which requires a minimum of 6500ft and the runway at Henderson field is 7800ft
+Derek Wall Yep, that's for sure. A good thing the island was there. I flew a few times from McGuire AFB in New Jersey to Iceland. There's not much to choose from if a problem should happen during that 12 1/2 hour flight. One time we were about half-way there when i noticed oil streaking across the right wing. We were in a C-54 I got the flight engineer and told him about it. We had to finish the flight on only 3 engines, but that was not a big deal. Well, it could have been if we lost another engine. Then that would be time to alert Air Rescue to meet us just in case things got worse. Actually i once picked up an S.O.S. while working in the Communications Ground Radio room. That is the EXACT situation that happened. A MATS flight going from New Jersey to Prestwick Scotland lost 2 of their 4 engines, That SOS blurted out of the speaker console right behind me, so i jumped on the teletype and routed the message to Prestwick and they sent up their Air Rescue to meet the incoming flight, which luckily was close enough to the destination and made it on 2 engines. CLOSE call.
piano i can think of many vehicles without windows dont make stupid jokes pilot could have flown might not be fun for him but they could
I’m not sure they could even land there today as here seems to be even less capability, maintenance and few people.
Thank you for the Great video
Imagine being the Delta mechanic being flown out there to fix the aircraft. Even with work, I'd still call that a great vacation.
What was shocking is when the passengers saw their credit card bill and charged for the extra stop.
Very cool story!
Cool 2 747 at midway
Your not alone, I almost didn't click on it because I as well thought it was a flight sim video...
That first news anchor looked like he was from the 70s
He has been doing the news since the 80s
Joe Moore. He was doing the news for KHON when I got out there in 1988. He's been on that channel for freakin' ever.
Tom Mc you're absolutely correct he's been at KHON2 News forever Lmao😂😂😂
中村一郎
2018 and he's still working. He started at our CBS station as a sports reporter. It will be a lose when he finally retires. He's friends with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak.
This would be a hell of an experience!
I doubt they transfered the passengers over to the second plane And THEN refueled it. I don't hesitate to guess they refueled the plane Before they transfered the passengers.
The Carpenter Division probably nailed a shipping crate together as makeshift stairs. ...
I was thinking it was Chicago Midway lol
But then you read the word, ISLAND!
The old phones they use in this video >
I would’ve demanded to get out and look around some considering the history of the island.
@cnwkwang 7800 ft long x 150ft wide. Yes. Read about ETOPS. This will help you understand why Midway is such an important tool to make your pacific trip not take much longer than it does. In fact, its about to get smaller with the 777 330 minute ETOPS.
@cnwkwang well, Henderson Field was designed to schedule bombing runs to Japan for B-17s, It was abandoned after it was returned to Hawaii after the war, I am genuinely surprised of their runways condition to accommodate a bird this size.
as others have said Fish and Wildlife use the island as a center for conservation efforts ( as well as the island being a sanctuary).
Midway is still designated as emergency diversion field for Pacific transit and is the reason that the journey can be as fast as it is. Midway allows pilots to still be within the rules for distance to a divertible airstrip while making the crossing.
- Also they were half way through the trip so a bit of a lighter plane, auto brakes are fucking incredible ( got check out auto braking systems for 747s, just nuts) and full reversers would get that big girl slowed down.
Emergency landing on the best BF1942 level.
I would want to get out and walk along the beach and explore what I could rather than sit in the aircraft for *EIGHT HOURS* !
I’m sure each passenger got a $25 flight credit for their inconvenience
@@SKS8080 $25 ain't enough unless I could get out and visithe area. Or use the time for mucheeded sleep.
@@robertgift but u get my point. I’m sure delta didn’t compensate the passengers much or if anything
I love the comments about tipping over. Hard to imagine hat guy got enough votes to represent the state of Georgia...😂
From what I have gathered, you Yanks should not even bother to vote anymore with all the election corruption you get. Every place gets election corruption. But it seems blatant in your system and when the citizens got together to do something about it, authorities were sent to arrest the ones trying to do something. I know American history. Should the Boston Tea Party take place today in the United States of America, all those involved in the storming of the ship and dumping of the tea would have been silenced and publicly executed. United States of America is known for its armed citizens. Perhaps it may be time for the Yankees to use those weapons against the corrupt powers that be. They are having a feast on yiru suffering and not letting you guys do anything about it. You do not want to become England were only the criminals have firearms. You also need to do something about the corruption on your election before you become Venezuela. Show the world what citizens can do. Do not become like us and roll over to show your belly because your government is becoming a beacon of legendary corruption. I saw as soon as Biden took the presidency that your fuel prices started going up immediately. Obama wanted to see fuel as expensive as possible. He was probably doing his oil buddies a favour and closed pipe lines to maximise their profit. I am sure he got a bit of incentive to keep American fuel prices as high as possible also. Show us how it is done U.S.A. Purge your leadership of the cancer growing within its ranks. Lead us.
@@indridcold8433
You don't know squat. Your rampant paranoia isn't helping, either.
@@Chatta-Ortega Indrid Cold is 💯 correct.
So did they get off? Or were they stuck on board the entire time? Amazing luck for those people.
The algorithm favors midway after all
Henderson Field is on Guadalcanal.
tell you dad he is a hero
I was on Midway in 84 on a Mac flight out of Guam. Not much there except birds and bird poop.
now just rubbish and animals boons. a shame. humanity shame. we're killing all the world with all of this rubbish
That's the Guano Act for you.
cappai cristian
Fish and wildlife runs a research station studying elephant seals, albatross, and goony birds,
Also the ghosts of WW-2.
I was surprised a 747 could even land there, because a 747 is a big and heavy aircraft that can damage runways that aren't really built for it.
i thought Henderson Field was on Guadacanal! i know it is! i dont believe that nobody could think of a name besides henderson for airfields in pacific.
FYI Henderson is the name of a pilot KIA over midway atoll during the battle of the same name. His name was given to the airfield on guadalcanal in1942 by the marines. It is now the civil international airport of the salomon islands. To keep honouring this pilot they must have renamed the US military airfield at midway. Seems logical to me.
When Guadalcanal became part of a new country, the gov't decided to change the name to Honiara International Airport. U.S. authorities then decided to "move" the name Henderson Field to Midway Atoll.
I’ve been to Midway like 50 times. Maybe 51.