Had a landing like that coming into Portland once. It was dark, foggy, icy and there was a cross wind. When the plane hit the ground it sort of hopped side ways feeling like it was going to roll. Scared the crap out of me. That’s why you always carry and extra pair of shorts in your carry on.
Olde Virginian
February 20, 2016 12:05 pm
This is why Uncle should mandate a giant gyro in every aircraft to give extra inertia.
The nice thing about this website is you can take something like this and run tangentially with it…
At least crew could see the runway (or at least the neighborhood off to the left).
Scariest landing I ever sat through was in a severe fog and driving rain in an ancient turboprop that was already trying to vibrate itself into pieces the entire flight, in the mountains. The last sight of land had been about 5 seconds after lifting off in Atlanta. The whole time it was a swim in pea soup that I wouldn’t have driven a car through at 1 mph.
There was obviously something wrong with the navigational instruments because twice we dropped down suddenly below the fog deck which was about maybe 50 feet above ground level. It being my local area each I said to myself what the hell are we doing over here in this part of town this low, on this heading? The first go-around, we made a steep climb again and all I could think of was getting to know my beloved mountains more intimately and suddenly than my wildest dream. The immigrant flight attendant unfastened herself from the jumpseat and came to my row and said “what going on?” in lovely pidgin. Presumably because I was the only old white male passenger and I exude gravitas and calm in all situations. “I think we’re doing a go-around, dear” I tried to reassure her.
On third try I was pleased to see the approach lights suddenly appear beneath the deck right where they ought to be.
When we landed there were the firetrucks right on the runway to greet us so I gather somebody in the tower had been saying “uh oh” too or maybe that is SOP for foggy days. I avoid air travel wherever possible because of the ancillary security circus, so I dunno.
Oh here’s some more interesting detail – when the crew popped their vault door open, I swear it was a couple of chicks. If I’d known that morself of info while we were airborne I may have soiled myself when we dropped right over a gas station on the wrong side of town. (I don’t know their religious confession.)
IndenturedServant
February 20, 2016 2:23 pm
I was on an Iberian flight from Madrid to Gatwick in 1992. A severe thunderstorm was pounding London as we came in for a landing. You could feel yourself becoming weightless as downdrafts kept slamming the plane downward and the pilot was slipping the plane like the video above. I started to get worried because I was near the back of the plane and I could see the far end of the runway for the entire final approach from my window seat. The violent downdrafts subsided as we got close to the ground but the pucker factor had me pulling up a daisy in my seat for fear the landing gear might collapse due to lateral forces but the pilot set that plane down so smoothly I never even felt us touchdown. The nose of the plane plane just rotated gently to the left as the nose settled and that was that. I’m betting the pilot was pulling daisies too!
starfcker
February 20, 2016 3:14 pm
I like the second guy, “fuck this”.
RHS Jr
February 20, 2016 3:43 pm
I’ve experienced a rolling wind so violent at flare that it slammed me to the back of my seat so hard the control was ripped from my hand and I couldn’t get back to it; the aircraft rolled violently left and the nose pitched up so all I saw was blue sky. The co-pilot slammed the stick forward with his foot and I got my hand on it just in time for it to get smashed into the console; I went full right. We hit the runway and it felt like falling off a three story building and landing on your butt on concrete. We were headed to the infield and we both locked right brake and returned to the midline. Thereafter, I made my heavy crosswind landings wing low and went “Navy” (they go full power before touchdown).
Thinker
February 20, 2016 3:45 pm
Portuguese island of Madeira. Remind me to buy my fortified wine elsewhere.
I’ve had a lot of close calls on landings like that. The old Kai Tak Hong Kong airport, where you could literally look into people’s apartments and see what they were having for dinner.
And then Sydney, which is crazy when it’s windy because it’s got relatively short runways.
MuckAbout
February 20, 2016 5:20 pm
The problem was a 35-40MPH cross wind, left to right. Most US airports would have closed the runway under these conditions. All those pilots crabbed into the wind to keep from being blown into right field and did a fair job at it.
However, not one of them did what I would have done, which, as one flairs to land, drop the up wind wing to offset the cross wind when you kick the rudder to align the aircraft with the runway. Not one!!
Were I their instructor, they would all have gotten a FAIL. It’s a wonder none of them ripped off a nose wheel.
Remind me not to fly on a European Airline.
MA
Thinker
February 20, 2016 5:49 pm
I didn’t know you were a pilot, Muck.
Westcoaster
February 20, 2016 9:28 pm
Coming into ONT (Ontario, CA) on a flight from DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth) one afternoon and we’re making the approach. At about 1,000 feet suddenly the plane yaws left with about a 1/2 roll and the pilot firewalls the engines. Way too many degrees of roll for a normal airline maneuver. We go around and the 2nd attempt was normal. As I got off I said to the pilot “Navy or Air Force”. He replied “Navy of course”. I replied, “Thank God or we would’ve been a smudge on the runway back there”. He just smiled.
Had a landing like that coming into Portland once. It was dark, foggy, icy and there was a cross wind. When the plane hit the ground it sort of hopped side ways feeling like it was going to roll. Scared the crap out of me. That’s why you always carry and extra pair of shorts in your carry on.
This is why Uncle should mandate a giant gyro in every aircraft to give extra inertia.
The nice thing about this website is you can take something like this and run tangentially with it…
At least crew could see the runway (or at least the neighborhood off to the left).
Scariest landing I ever sat through was in a severe fog and driving rain in an ancient turboprop that was already trying to vibrate itself into pieces the entire flight, in the mountains. The last sight of land had been about 5 seconds after lifting off in Atlanta. The whole time it was a swim in pea soup that I wouldn’t have driven a car through at 1 mph.
There was obviously something wrong with the navigational instruments because twice we dropped down suddenly below the fog deck which was about maybe 50 feet above ground level. It being my local area each I said to myself what the hell are we doing over here in this part of town this low, on this heading? The first go-around, we made a steep climb again and all I could think of was getting to know my beloved mountains more intimately and suddenly than my wildest dream. The immigrant flight attendant unfastened herself from the jumpseat and came to my row and said “what going on?” in lovely pidgin. Presumably because I was the only old white male passenger and I exude gravitas and calm in all situations. “I think we’re doing a go-around, dear” I tried to reassure her.
On third try I was pleased to see the approach lights suddenly appear beneath the deck right where they ought to be.
When we landed there were the firetrucks right on the runway to greet us so I gather somebody in the tower had been saying “uh oh” too or maybe that is SOP for foggy days. I avoid air travel wherever possible because of the ancillary security circus, so I dunno.
Oh here’s some more interesting detail – when the crew popped their vault door open, I swear it was a couple of chicks. If I’d known that morself of info while we were airborne I may have soiled myself when we dropped right over a gas station on the wrong side of town. (I don’t know their religious confession.)
I was on an Iberian flight from Madrid to Gatwick in 1992. A severe thunderstorm was pounding London as we came in for a landing. You could feel yourself becoming weightless as downdrafts kept slamming the plane downward and the pilot was slipping the plane like the video above. I started to get worried because I was near the back of the plane and I could see the far end of the runway for the entire final approach from my window seat. The violent downdrafts subsided as we got close to the ground but the pucker factor had me pulling up a daisy in my seat for fear the landing gear might collapse due to lateral forces but the pilot set that plane down so smoothly I never even felt us touchdown. The nose of the plane plane just rotated gently to the left as the nose settled and that was that. I’m betting the pilot was pulling daisies too!
I like the second guy, “fuck this”.
I’ve experienced a rolling wind so violent at flare that it slammed me to the back of my seat so hard the control was ripped from my hand and I couldn’t get back to it; the aircraft rolled violently left and the nose pitched up so all I saw was blue sky. The co-pilot slammed the stick forward with his foot and I got my hand on it just in time for it to get smashed into the console; I went full right. We hit the runway and it felt like falling off a three story building and landing on your butt on concrete. We were headed to the infield and we both locked right brake and returned to the midline. Thereafter, I made my heavy crosswind landings wing low and went “Navy” (they go full power before touchdown).
Portuguese island of Madeira. Remind me to buy my fortified wine elsewhere.
I’ve had a lot of close calls on landings like that. The old Kai Tak Hong Kong airport, where you could literally look into people’s apartments and see what they were having for dinner.
And then Sydney, which is crazy when it’s windy because it’s got relatively short runways.
The problem was a 35-40MPH cross wind, left to right. Most US airports would have closed the runway under these conditions. All those pilots crabbed into the wind to keep from being blown into right field and did a fair job at it.
However, not one of them did what I would have done, which, as one flairs to land, drop the up wind wing to offset the cross wind when you kick the rudder to align the aircraft with the runway. Not one!!
Were I their instructor, they would all have gotten a FAIL. It’s a wonder none of them ripped off a nose wheel.
Remind me not to fly on a European Airline.
MA
I didn’t know you were a pilot, Muck.
Coming into ONT (Ontario, CA) on a flight from DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth) one afternoon and we’re making the approach. At about 1,000 feet suddenly the plane yaws left with about a 1/2 roll and the pilot firewalls the engines. Way too many degrees of roll for a normal airline maneuver. We go around and the 2nd attempt was normal. As I got off I said to the pilot “Navy or Air Force”. He replied “Navy of course”. I replied, “Thank God or we would’ve been a smudge on the runway back there”. He just smiled.