Co-pilot of Southwest wrong-Branson-airport jet retiring

Southwest Airlines Co. says that the co-pilot of a plane that landed at the wrong airport in January has retired, while the plane's captain has resumed flying.

Airline spokeswoman Brandy King on Monday declined to identify the pilots, each of whom had at least 12 years with Southwest.

Both had been on paid leave after the Jan. 12 incident.

Instead of landing at the main airport in Branson, Mo., they landed at a smaller airport and had to brake hard to stop the Boeing 737 before a steep drop at the end of the shorter runway. No injuries were reported.

Federal officials said the pilots told them they mistook the bright runway lights at the smaller airport for the bigger one 7 miles away.

This story was originally published April 14, 2014 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Co-pilot of Southwest wrong-Branson-airport jet retiring."