2008-03-03 14:22:06.276802+00 by Dan Lyke 4 comments
6 pictures of an Airbus A320 catching a monster side gust while attempting to land. Says the (German speaking) source I got this from:
According to the report wind blew with 55 mph (90km/h) at the moment of the incident. None of the 131 passengers onboard was injured and after a somewhat longer place round the pilot landed savely on that airport. However the plane lost the winglets on the left wing when it touched earth.
Yow.
[ related topics: Photography Aviation ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: Video made: 2008-03-03 17:16:19.744518+00 by: jeff
Here is the video of that near miss. Wow.
#Comment Re: made: 2008-03-03 23:16:24.757537+00 by: mkelley
NBC Nightly News said that is was so traumatic, the passengers are being offered psychological counseling.
#Comment Re: made: 2008-03-04 02:18:30.623408+00 by: Dan Lyke
I'd suggest that at the very least they're due new underwear...
#Comment Re: made: 2008-03-05 16:50:40.783317+00 by: JT [edit history]
Worst part seems to be that this pilot had the option of landing into the wind on runway 33, however told the tower he wanted to land on runway 23 in a crosswind so he could use an ILS approach. Mind you, ILS has nothing to do with stabilizing a plane and only is useful in limited visibility situations.
overview pdf
Seems this guy's bad judgment could have cost quite a few lives. Also, after speaking to a friend who lives near Berlin (supplier of the pdf above), Germany's federation of pilots is very displeased with his decision and is recommending he voluntarily surrender his pilot's license.