Photo: Airplane Pictures/Spotter Rodrigues
Scary as they may be, rough landings are not something unheard of in the aviation industry. I mean, think about it: in a world where each day an estimated 100,000 airplanes take off and land every single day, in all sorts of weather conditions, from various runways, and in the hands of just as many pilots, perfection is impossible to achieve.
So, rough landings (and takeoffs) are a given. They’re frightening, true, for the people on board the airplane, but they almost always end up with clapping hands, as all those travelers feel relieved once the winged machines comes to a halt.
There’s a happy ending in the clip attached below as well, although at one point you get the feeling the entire landing could have gone either way.
The clip was published online over the weekend by Airplane Pictures. We’re not told when it was shot (it seems to have recorded at the end of last year), or where (some sources say it’s the Ponta Delgada Airport in the Azores), but we do know we’re dealing with an Airbus A321neo coming in to land, presumably while assaulted by wind gusts.
Now, we all know how landings are supposed to go: the airplane descends, lifts its nose up, hits the runway with the two rear sets of wheels, more or less at the same time, the nose gear then touches the ground, brake, and you’re home.
Not this Airbus, though. The plane, wearing the livery of Azores Airlines and a tattoo with the word Magical on its body, seems to have trouble properly leveling itself even before landing.
Banking slightly left and right, it hits the runway with the left rear wheel set first. The impact (or a perfectly timed gust of wind pushing it in the opposite direction) is powerful enough to lift it once more, with the right side gear now touching the ground. At the same time, the left and nose ones are in the air, at curious angles, and this is when you can tell yourself “that’s it, it’s over.”
Only it’s not, as (hopefully) pilot skill, the plane itself, and perhaps an ounce of luck conspire to safely put the plane on the ground.
Magical, right?
There’s a happy ending in the clip attached below as well, although at one point you get the feeling the entire landing could have gone either way.
The clip was published online over the weekend by Airplane Pictures. We’re not told when it was shot (it seems to have recorded at the end of last year), or where (some sources say it’s the Ponta Delgada Airport in the Azores), but we do know we’re dealing with an Airbus A321neo coming in to land, presumably while assaulted by wind gusts.
Now, we all know how landings are supposed to go: the airplane descends, lifts its nose up, hits the runway with the two rear sets of wheels, more or less at the same time, the nose gear then touches the ground, brake, and you’re home.
Not this Airbus, though. The plane, wearing the livery of Azores Airlines and a tattoo with the word Magical on its body, seems to have trouble properly leveling itself even before landing.
Banking slightly left and right, it hits the runway with the left rear wheel set first. The impact (or a perfectly timed gust of wind pushing it in the opposite direction) is powerful enough to lift it once more, with the right side gear now touching the ground. At the same time, the left and nose ones are in the air, at curious angles, and this is when you can tell yourself “that’s it, it’s over.”
Only it’s not, as (hopefully) pilot skill, the plane itself, and perhaps an ounce of luck conspire to safely put the plane on the ground.
Magical, right?
Hard landing of an Airbus A321neo
— Airplane Pictures ?? (@ilove_aviation) August 13, 2022
???? Spotter Rodrigues pic.twitter.com/6rirNqTmhf
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