How do you get a large cargo airplane out of a small airport with a short runway in Kansas? Carefully, very carefully.
A jumbo 747 that mistakenly landed at Col. James Jabara Airport in Wichita safely took off on Thursday afternoon and headed for its original destination, an Air Force base about eight miles away, McConnell Air Force Base.
When fully loaded, a plane that size needs a runway of more than 9,200 feet to take off safely. The Jabara runway is about 6,100 feet.
But officials had said they weren’t worried because the plane was lighter, having used up much of its fuel in the Wednesday flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport. Televised images show the plane being moved around the runway then captured its flawless liftoff.