Emirates Boeing 777 aborts sideways crosswind landing at Birmingham Airport
- 10 years ago
A chilling video in which an Emirates Airlines jet aborts a last-minute sideways landing at Birmingham Airport in the UK is going viral.
According to passengers' accounts, the Boeing 777 began frantically bobbing from side-to-side as it made its descent toward the airport.
"As we came towards the city, the plane was shaking on the way down. We could see from the in-flight monitors that the plane was drifting to the left as we were landing," passenger Kevon Miller told the Birmingham Mail.
The 60 mph crosswinds forced pilots to tilt the plane sideways in a "crab" position with its nose pointed into the wind in order to line it up with the runway.
The plane came within inches of the tarmac on its first landing attempt and later made another failed attempt.
"The first time it tried to land, the pilot got quite close to the runway but didn't manage it," said 28-year-old Miller. "We then went round again but couldn't get down quite as low."
It was eventually diverted to Gatwick Airport, near London, where the third time proved to be a charm.
"We landed at Gatwick and refuelled," said Miller. "Nobody got off the plane and people were getting quite restless at having to wait, but we were told that the winds in Birmingham had died down and five other planes had managed to land."
While reports of planes grappling with heavy crosswinds are fairly normal, this scary ride was anything but. As for Miller, the Birmingham-based accounts assistant swears he's had enough.
"Never getting on a plane again', Miller posted on Twitter. "Full on wanted to cry".
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According to passengers' accounts, the Boeing 777 began frantically bobbing from side-to-side as it made its descent toward the airport.
"As we came towards the city, the plane was shaking on the way down. We could see from the in-flight monitors that the plane was drifting to the left as we were landing," passenger Kevon Miller told the Birmingham Mail.
The 60 mph crosswinds forced pilots to tilt the plane sideways in a "crab" position with its nose pointed into the wind in order to line it up with the runway.
The plane came within inches of the tarmac on its first landing attempt and later made another failed attempt.
"The first time it tried to land, the pilot got quite close to the runway but didn't manage it," said 28-year-old Miller. "We then went round again but couldn't get down quite as low."
It was eventually diverted to Gatwick Airport, near London, where the third time proved to be a charm.
"We landed at Gatwick and refuelled," said Miller. "Nobody got off the plane and people were getting quite restless at having to wait, but we were told that the winds in Birmingham had died down and five other planes had managed to land."
While reports of planes grappling with heavy crosswinds are fairly normal, this scary ride was anything but. As for Miller, the Birmingham-based accounts assistant swears he's had enough.
"Never getting on a plane again', Miller posted on Twitter. "Full on wanted to cry".
--------------------------------------------------------
TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world. Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/
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