TRANS Pilot lands 394-ton A380 sideways as Storm Dennis rages

et2

Has No Life - Lives on TB
You would crap your pants if you saw the view the pilot has doing a crosswind landing like that. You would be looking out the side window Instead of straight ahead … with centerline not anywhere near where the nose is pointed.

One of the hardest landings to make. Fighting a lot of things, higher airspeed, wind shear, turbulence. Lots to monitor and fly the plane. Getting that nose to come around before the front gear touch down.
 

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Looks like he was doing a slip in a Cessna.....Crank the wheel hard to the left, full left rudder and you get a sink rate of about 1200 feet a minute. When you cross the centerline, snap the rudder back pull the wheel straight. And grease that puppy onto the runway.
Done a bunch of those over the years. Good memories.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
I've done many crosswind landings in light aircraft so it's not a new phenomena to me but what impressed me was the size of that Airbus and those winds were so strong especially with that huge vertical stabilizer catching the wind was just tossing the plane around like a toy. Not sure what the wind gusts where but it looked like about a 45 degree crosswind component and had to be close to the design limits of the airframe. That flight crew was the real deal.
 

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
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Having issues getting it to load, too many screens up ATM.

Do the wheels on those things rotate 360?
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
WOW!!
iu

Glad I wasn't on that plane!!
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
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CaryC

Has No Life - Lives on TB
At least the passengers on the "passenger side" got the pilots view of the runway.
 

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Small planes in Alaska do that a lot .

Yep, you can slip a small plane in like that, not have to use flaps and can spool your power up quickly if you fall behind the power curve.
My instructor was a B-26 pilot during WW2. He taught me how to do things without all the conveniences-like flaps or brakes. Or flying into and out of postage stamps. The B-26 had a pretty high wing loading so you had to be creative getting them on the ground, particularly if they were shot up. I gained his experience and treasure it.
 

Blue 5

Veteran Member
I have mad respect for pilots who pull off landings like that and make it look easy. Back in my flying days I used to be a sweaty mess after crosswind landings... and I was only flying Piper Cherokees.
 

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
I was on a Braniff flight in Texas in the 70's and this guy landed the plane in a severe crosswind, we were sideways and the leading wing clipped a few runway lights. Afterwards he came out and apologized and shook every passengers hand.

The terrain in west Texas is flat and winds can be a tremendous problem.

I flew into Midland/Odessa Airport decades ago on American which is the worse flight that I was ever on. The pilot tried to land the passenger plane in rough winds and the plane was shaking and moving up and down and sideways. The passengers were screaming, crying and praying. The teenage female that was sitting next to me was sobbing, shaking and squezzing my hand with both of her hands as I held her. This teenage female was beyond being scared.

Before he could land the plane, the pilot put the engines to full power and went back around. If the AH of a pilot had not gone around, he would have crashed the plane for the right wing has more than thirty degrees pointed down toward the runway and would of scraped the runway.

The second attempt was rough but not as rough as the first and the pilot was able to land with the plane sideways which I could tell looking out the side window.

I calmed the young lady down and waited for the crowd to rush off the plane. There was plenty of yelling and cursing at the cockpit. The pilot did not exit the cockpit. I asked the stewardess the name of the pilot and she refused my to answer my request. This landing resulted in a compliant to the president of American Airlines. Did find out later that the pilot was suspended for not circling the airport until the dangerous winds subsided or fly to another airport to wait out the windstorm.

When I got off the the plane the teen's parents and the teen met me and the parents and teen thanked me for taking care of their daughter.

The second worse flight was when I was headed to El Paso and we were crossing over the Davis mountains when the fasten seat belts sign came on while I had entered a rear restroom and the plane hit turbulence and air pockets and the plane was shaking and dropping. I put both of my hands on the bulkheads and was finally able to zip up and made it to a rear seat and buckled in next to a stewardess. The plane made it quickly through the unexpected turbulence. Told the stewardess about the restroom and she locked it off. Felt sorry for the cleanup crew that had to clean that restroom.

I was flying back to DFW from Amarillo sitting next to a black player for the Cowboys. As we took off, the player grabbed the ends of two seat dividers and his knuckles turned white. He related to me that he did not like flying especially taking off or landing.

I was due to fly out of Albuquerque one summer with the plane loaded with vacationers. I gave up my seat and took a later plane. I do not like flying loaded planes especially during the summer with all of the vacationers that have excess luggage loaded with everything except the kitchen sink.

Flying can be an experience.

Texican....
 

Milkweed Host

Veteran Member
Most of my flying has been in fixed wing, with nothing in the last 22 years, but
I would never attempt to land a little fixed wing in that crosswind. It's not worth it.
Way too many things can go wrong in extreme crosswind landings. At least if it's a
straight headwind, the aircraft is far more controllable, but watch out when you decrease
throttle as the landing roll will be really short. (LOL)

I'll fly to my alternate airport and fly another day.
 

SurvivalRing

Rich Fleetwood - Founder - author/coder/podcaster
I’ve always enjoyed flying…except for one landing at the airport in Long Beach, CA, back in 2006. Flew out there for a scholarship event, from Wyoming, to Denver, to Phoenix, and finally Long Beach.

It was mid April, and as we came in for the landing, the plane flared, and then dropped what felt like the last ten or twenty feet…hardest landing in an airliner I’ve ever experienced. Really jarred the hell out of my back.

One of the flight attendants came on the PA as we slowed down to turn onto the Taxiway, and said…

“That wasn’t the pilots fault, nor the plane’s fault…it was the asphalt”…

Yeah…explain that to my shattered coccyx..,
 

glennb6

Inactive
the tip jar is located next to the exit door for your use on the way out, or the plate will be passed around just prior to the seat belt sign being turned off after we come to a full stop
 

DazedandConfused

Veteran Member
Flying into DFW one time and the plane landed like that I was looking out the window at the runway lights. There was a kid flying alone beside me and he looked up at me scared to death I asked him if he saw sparks he looked out the window real hard and turned back wide eyed to me and said NO I said we were ok and all was good, He laughed a little and smiled.
Fun times
 
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