Plane Makes Heartstopping Landing In 150 MPH Wind Gusts

Amazing new video today of a Lufthansa jet, flying from Munich to Hamburg with 137 passengers, veering back and forth in 150 mile per hour gusting winds. The plane came within "a split second of crashing" and after just touching down, a wing tip hit the runway and the plane bounced sideways on the runway. The now-hailed pilots shot back up, tried again and landed safely.

Watch:

A german plane had a near miss when it tried to land in gusting winds. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1438502008http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1178199204

Comments

[wndrwrthg]

I wonder if they were showing the landing to the passengers.

[MajorKong]

I don't know what the crosswind landing technique is for the Airbus 320, but this didn't look too good from where I'm sitting.

If the winds were out of limits for the aircraft, legality and common sense dictate that they should have diverted to their alternate. If they had sufficient fuel they could have gone into a holding pattern and waited for the winds to die down.

If the winds were within limits for that aircraft. They should have been able to land it without dragging the left wingtip and departing the left side of the runway on the go-around. If they had dug that left wingtip in a little more they might very well have cartwheeled the aircraft.

[Robert59]

They're being hailed as heroes but I'd like to know what the crosswind component was before they began the approach. If safety is paramount why did they attempt to land in the first place? And you have to ask after the disastrous first attempt why did they go around and do it again, risking the lives of all those passengers?

Munich to Hamburg can't be more than an hour long flight and with all the airfields in Germany they should have easily been able to find one where the crosswind component was less severe.

[DRHoen]

Maybe it was an anomalous wind gust. Surely they wouldn't have attempted a landing if they thought it wouldn't be safe.

[MajorKong]

They would have know if the winds were gusting. Wind gusts are reported along with wind speed and direction. It's also noteworthy that a KLM flight refused to take off from Hamburg at the same time.

[Earl]

Surely.

[jvarga]

That looked scary as hell. I can only imagine what it was like inside the plane. "hey why are we flying at a 45 degree angle???".

[MagisterLudi]

look ma, no hands.

[RightBrain]

Applaud whom? This pilot was flying above the known cross-wind component for this airplane. Surface winds are viewed by the tower and broadcast to the plane as it is landing. The crosswind obviously exceeded both the published ability of that aircraft as well as the rudder capability at landing speed.

I would send him back to the minors for that one.

[fumes]

he had plenty of rudder, it was the gust that let go before his right foot could.

[MagisterLudi]

Great and informative post, Right Brain

[fumes]

he had plenty of rudder.

[MajorKong]

Yes, and he didn't use it. He also didn't use his ailerons to keep the upwind wing from rising which is why he dragged the downwind wingtip on the runway.

[jerseywolf]

The pilot was brilliant here.

[MajorKong]

Old saying: "A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to stay out of situations where he needs to use his superior skill".

[jeffd]

AMEN! I've seen and been on military planes that pulled stunts like that, but as any military stick jockey will tell you, that's Different. You don't have 137 random civilians strapped to your ass while you try and make an airframe do what its designers never thought anybody sober enough to fly the aircraft would try to do. Half of me is watching that video over and over again, pumping air and shouting RIGHT ON!; the (saner?) half of me is trying to put myself in that cockpit and imagine a scenario that would make me even try to do something like that. (and no, I *know* I'm not that "good" a pilot; I wouldn't even try that in a simulator).

[Earl]

So if a guy gets himself into a bad place by making a series of stupid decisions, and then barely manages to get himself out of it alive, he's brilliant?

[MagisterLudi]

Great job. No wonder I prefer to fly Lufthansa whenever possible, especially trans-Atlantic. I even like LTV ( LVT?). It this were Polish Air or Aeroflot they'd be toast by now.

Can't wait for first anal obsessive to make a Bush or Obama comment.

[speakingtruth2power]

Flagged for being a sphincter.

[Dendroica]

LTU. And they're a good outfit.

[humuhumunukunukuapuaa]

That is why I will never be a pilot: I would've just crapped in my pants. Amazing video, hats off to the pilots.

[YHWH]

merrydeath viagra is scarier

[rbspickles]

wow! Some scary stuff right there. Hopefully the passengers and crew had a change of clothes with them. I know my shorts would be soiled.

[gcallaghan]

Pity the crew that cleaned the seats afterward.

[slowroll]

Why were they landing under such extremely unfavorable circumstances? There should have been other safety options available such as sufficient fuel reserve for holding until conditions improved or bingoing to an alternate airport.