Pilots battle strong crosswinds while landing at Birmingham Airport

Home Top

Paradise on earth! Galapagos voted best island in the world by travellers (but the rest of the top 10 is just as stunning)
Eating live maggots, drinking muddy river water and fending off swarms of bloodthirsty insects: How a Londoner became a 'real-life Bear Grylls' in the Bolivian Amazon
Thomas Cook pays £8,500 to four British holidaymakers after man fell so ill at Turkish resort he was bedridden for days and unfit to fly home
Two flight attendants and a passenger taken to hospital after Washington-bound United Airlines flight rocked by severe turbulence
In-town boutique or beach retreat? Two very different takes on Mexico's Playa del Carmen
From Craster kippers to Cornish crab: Take a food tour along Britain's beautiful coastline and enjoy the ones that didn't get away
Love ALL: At the world's best hotels for playing tennis you can keep Wimbledon fever alive
Holidaymaker banned from morning flight and escorted out of Manchester Airport for being too drunk to fly
EasyJet flight from Newcastle to Spain is forced to make unscheduled landing in Paris because it almost ran out of WATER
Where the sweets are a mouthful of sugar cane and the spa treatments are heavenly: Why Borneo is the perfect jungle for young adventurers and an oasis for adults
A taste of the Swiss Alps... in Wiltshire: MasterChef winner Ping Coombes crosses an opulent hotel off her holiday 'wish list'
Access all areas: The mindblowing 360-degree photographs of Britain's best-loved landscapes and historic attractions
Barcelona residents say tourism is a bigger problem than poverty as new mayor ramps up efforts to introduce a cap on visitors
'Look out for secret cave parties': Kiss FM DJ Charlie Hedges' insider tips on the best places to drink, dine and unwind in Ibiza
With award-winning spas for the adults and fun-fuelled clubs for the children... could a relaxing trip to Croatia save your marriage?
The place where street lights, signs and wifi don't exist! Untamed Lundy Island is a jewel in the crown of The Landmark Trust
Wine and design: The quirky boutique vineyard in Chile that offers guests art among the vines
Passenger's fury after being hit with travel website's 'hidden' £80 service fee that doubled price of return flights
Know the dress code, avoid quiet streets and join a walking tour or cooking class to make friends: Infographic reveals handy do's and don'ts for solo female travellers
Caught on camera: Lucky seal escapes jaws of great white shark in frenzied attack that unfolded so close to holidaymakers they were splashed with water
Warning for British tourists as biker gangs in Barcelona target holidaymakers by slashing tyres, towing car to a garage and demanding £1,000 for repairs
Say cheese! Japan's Mount Fuji gets Wi-Fi so hikers can check weather information and tourists can upload selfies faster
What happened to the spirit of exploration? UK adults have only visited 5% of the world's countries with the least visited places including Greenland, Chile and Fiji
Noteworthy dedication: Man quits 9 to 5 job to travel the world with his dog, Brando, and his PIANO, which he plays for people along the way

Heart-pounding compilation captures plane coming in to land sideways
Another pilot appears to hover over ground before aborting the landing
UK Flight Safety Committee said: 'crosswinds are an everyday occurrence'

Published: 08:47 EST, 7 July 2015 | Updated: 09:57 EST, 7 July 2015

View
comments

Crosswinds at Birmingham Airport have resulted in a number of heart-pounding landings in recent years and a compilation video posted online captures some of the most terrifying.

In the clip, pilots can be seen battling against the strong winds as they come into land and the planes themselves appear to hover over the ground moments before touching down.

One aircraft comes in sideways before landing, straightening up on the tarmac and continuing to make its way down the runway.

Planes float in for landing as high crosswinds continue

The compilation video shows a number of planes coming into land in strong crosswinds at Birmingham Airport

An aeroplane touches down on the runway before bouncing back up into the air and coming down once again to land successfully

Another touches down before momentarily bouncing back up into the air and then landing successfully.

The video concludes with an aircraft appearing to hover over the ground before the pilot decides to abort the landing and bring the plane back up into the air.

Discussing the video with MailOnline Travel, Dai Whittingham, the Chief Executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee, stated that while crosswinds appear dangerous, they are an everyday occurrence.

He said: ‘High winds in themselves are not dangerous but they can certainly be inconvenient, especially if the wind direction is across the runway.

One of the aircrafts comes into land sideways before straightening up on the tarmac and continuing to make its way down the runway

‘All pilots train to land in high crosswind conditions and will have practiced to the aircraft limits in the simulator.

‘When any new aircraft is certified to carry passengers it comes with a published crosswind limit which is the maximum that has been demonstrated by a test pilot during the certification process.

‘If the wind is outside that limit the crew will have to take the aircraft to an alternate airport where the wind is within limits (which means a runway that has less of a crosswind component).

'In practice, the wind is rarely aligned fully with the runway so there is always a slight crosswind to deal with, it is just the amount of it that varies.’

Pilots battle against the strong winds as they come into land and the planes appear to hover over the ground moments before touching down

Mr Whittingham also noted that the public misconceptions about landing in strong winds is probably down to turbulence as the approaches are always bumpy.

Additionally, passengers do not have the same forward view as the pilot, which makes the sensation of being buffeted in all directions all the more uncomfortable.

He concluded by saying: ‘There is a briefing given before all approaches to ensure that both pilots understand the type of approach, what the division of duties are, and any special considerations.

The Chief Executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee said that while crosswinds appear dangerous, they are an everyday occurrence

‘A strong crosswind (or strong winds in general) would certainly be a briefing topic.

‘Both pilots will be monitoring the situation to ensure the wind does not exceed their limits and both will be alert to the possibility that the landing may need to be abandoned.

‘The pilots would also remind themselves of the correct techniques and decide on the additional safety factor to be applied to the target approach speed.’