Old Tawau Airport: One of World’s Scariest Runways

5 March 2010 4,290 views 16 Comments

For those of you who have experienced landing at the old Tawau airport a long time ago, you know how scary it can be.

The airport ceased operations when the new Tawau International Airport was opened in 2001, located about 33km from the town centre. The old airport was in operation for more than 50 years.

The biggest aircraft that the old airport can handle was a Boeing 737. Fokker 50 also served the airport.

photo courtesy of M Radzi Desa

Due to the short runway which was about 2.2km in length, a Boeing 737 aircraft must apply maximum braking during landing. Can you imagine if the runway is wet?

Here’s how Mr. Ahmad M from MalaysianWings forum described landing at the old Tawau airport:

Nothing close like the airports mentioned but locally the old Tawau airport was quite tricky during its days especially for a B737-400. For runway 17 you have to fly manually between two hills ( one of them is called Outer Marker Hill if I remember correctly) then a short line up into finals and land on a short and just wide enough runway with full maximum autobrakes and maximum reverse. No nice smooth touchdown here as a nice solid “thump” is required and to be fair to the Tawau folks they were very understanding.

As a pilot, it requires a lot of training and experience before they are allowed to land an aircraft at the airport. For this very reason the old airport was also known as “The Captain’s Airport” as described by Mr. Ahmad M in the forum:

Its a Captain’s only sector (including take-offs) and a Captain must be qualified and rated for TWU ops. For the rating he must go through training and practice landings in the simulator and then fly a couple of sectors into TWU with an instructor/ Authorized Examiner. Its also a daylight only operations and at the slightest sign of rain, the flight will be delayed, diverted or even cancelled.

In 1995, there was a huge tragedy at the airport when a Fokker 50 from Kota Kinabalu touched down 500m before the end of the runway. While attempting to carry out a go-around, the aircraft crashed into a Malay village, Kampung Seri Menanti, causing 34 fatalities including two crews.

The following video was the news featured on Malaysia’s TV3 (in Malay).

The new airport has a longer runway and probably no longer a challenge for pilots. Thus the “Captain’s Airport” is nothing but a distant memory.

P/S Are you Mr. Ahmad M from the forum? We would like to hear more stories from you.

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

16 Comments »

adriansabah said:

I remember the old airport! I always looked forward to the landing cos it was exciting. And I was in Tawau during the airplane crash of 1995, one of our contractors was on that plane. Sadly, he didn't make it.

# 10 March 2010 at 6:01 am

richardker (author) said:

My brother was supposed to be on the flight back to KK! I remember I was in high school then, the airport was not so far from my school, and it was around 1.30pm in the afternoon when we saw smoke coming from the airport. It was a tragic day indeed.

# 10 March 2010 at 6:47 am

talker said:

Until today, did those houses has been remove?? seem that they stay we all lost even after something so serious like this has happened…what some poor management, these people should all go.

# 14 March 2010 at 5:37 pm

Ronald said:

I was supposed to catch the Fokker F50 flight back to KK on that fateful day. I was sitting in the departure hall waiting for the aircraft to land. When it did land, it landed some three quarters down the length of airport runway, and then attempted to take off again. Everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew was that there was a loud explosion and a thick billow of smoke coming from the end of the runway.

The fire brigade could not immediately approach the burning wreck as it was located outside the airport fence in the area where squatters' have built their homes. I went to the crash site with my father who came back to the airport after seeing the thick smoke from town (he was extremely worried as he thought that I had already boarded the flight!).

There was absolute pandemonium at the crash site. The authorities trying to get in. The squatters trying to get out. Some of the squatters scrambled to save their personal belongings. I even saw some of them carrying their sofa sets on their shoulders ! I could only stand and watch as the authorities present had started cordoning the crash site. It was a horrifying experience and scenes of the crash will forever be etched in my mind.

# 22 March 2010 at 2:10 pm

King Kong said:

Tawau old aiport was really very horrible airport.

WHen the plane was taking off, I could feel that maxium force came out from the plane. When the plane was landing, I felt the maximum braking force…

But the good thing was…it was so near to town and only 10 minutes drive from my house.

# 22 March 2010 at 10:13 pm

richardker (author) said:

Thank you bro for sharing this!

# 22 March 2010 at 10:14 pm

richardker (author) said:

@King Kong: I agree with you for the distance, it's so close from almost anywhere then.

# 22 March 2010 at 10:15 pm

Mel said:

My friend who worked for TV3 did a report of the scene. He saw charred bodies, including of a pregnant woman – her legs were missing. He had nightmares for years.

# 3 April 2010 at 10:15 pm

teh said:

everytime a plane land it will sure pass ngam ngam on top of my house… i stayed in taman gembira back then. … sometimes the aircraft will land the other way round… lucky it didn’t go the other way round… else i guess the next thing happen i will have an f50 parked at my living room…

I was just in secondary 1 backed then …. saw smoke from my school. terrible i should say

# 11 June 2010 at 1:51 pm

jac said:

Do u all feel the difference when the plane touch down to the tawau runway n klia runway ? even though is a new airport, longer runway…but the quality still got the different…I keep on praying when the plane touch down that moment, the heart bit ll jump faster..

After this tragedy…i ll only feel safe when the plane totally static…

# 11 June 2010 at 9:12 pm

Saravanen said:

Beautiful memories.

Those days, u reach Tawau with a jolt, and you leave with a dash. Nothing comes close to that Tawau airport experience.

# 13 August 2010 at 9:18 pm

richardker (author) said:

@Saravanen: Well said my friend… well said…

# 14 August 2010 at 9:43 am

azunizad said:

The most scariest moment during controlling aircraft departure at Tawau old, when the departure of full pack B737-400 airborne from runway 17 toward the Tawau town. With runway length of 1770m and full load of the aircraft you can imagine the stress of the aircraft airborne while your finger on the emergency button if something happened.

# 1 June 2011 at 3:04 pm

richardker (author) said:

Thanks for sharing! You worked at the control tower before?

# 1 June 2011 at 4:34 pm

D said:

I was supposed to be on that flight as I was moving to tawau at that time. I decided to fly in 2 days early to get settled in and set up a bank account. I’m glad I did. I lived a mile from the airport next door to the yacht club and I was sitting on my porch when I heard the explosion. We went up to help but there was nothing we could do. The police sent us away. I remember the shacks burning and the gas bottles exploding and rocketing into the air about 100 meters up.

# 31 July 2011 at 8:18 am

Daddyisthebest said:

My memories of it were as a child during the 2nd half of the 70s, up to 1981 (moved away in ‘82, then returned in ‘88).

Before 1981, it catered only to the Fokker F27 and anything smaller (still vaguely recall Bouraq and their little twin engine bird).

Those days, the terminal building was quite basic. After checking in, you’d go to your left into what essentially (at that time) was a “kopitiam” place, and the little departure room was at the far end of it.

There was no “Arrivals” zone – arriving passengers entered the terminal building through a “corridor” between the check in area and the “kopitiam”, and technically, they exit the “airside” before walking over to the other end of the building to the baggage retrieval area.

Also before 1981, the “kopitiam” area led out to the “viewing gallery” – it’s a fenced up open-air area outside the terminal, right up to the parking apron.

With the parking apron so close to the terminal, it was a mightily noisy affair each time the F27s revv up their engines.

1981 (September or October??) saw the arrival of the B737, but not before some renovation and extension was carried out. From the photo above you could see towards each end of the runway there are 2 turning pans – it is very evident that the runway wasn’t extended by much length-wise. Both the parking apron and terminal building became bigger, and the “viewing gallery” was closed off.

I still recall just before the 737 commenced commercial flights, they actually performed test flights, presumably to confirm that it’s indeed ok to operate 737s in and out of the now-extended airport. On that day, from morning till afternoon, we heard the roar of the 737’s engines each time it took off, and occassionally saw it flying around quite low over town.

My love of aviation was born at that old Tawau Airport. Ahh, it’s nostalgic, the old Tawau airport of the 70s and 80s!

# 24 August 2011 at 2:42 pm