Too high on approach

[Kev367th]

Try flying into Belfast City airport in a little Shorts 330 with a howling gale going on!!!!

[2stony]

I've had three which stand out in my mind. We're on final at the airport on Maui. Gear go down, I'm checking out the cool water colors close to the shore, palm trees; all of a sudden, the pilot jams the throttle forward and pulls a steep bank to the right. After he straightens out, he gets on the com and says "sorry folks, but I didn't want to land on top of that small plane below me"(****e pants here).
     Another time, we're coming into LAX in a MD-80 and I can tell he's coming in "hot". He hits the runway hard and bounces like a basketball. After re-touching down, he puts the engines in reverse and jams on the brakes. I'm looking out the window and see a parked plane in front of us waiting for the terminal, he manages to stop about 100 feet behind it. I'm one of the last people off the plane, and as I walk past the cockpit, I say "nice landing" very sarcastically. We had a 2 hour delay while the hydraulics cooled off.
     Not a landing, but still thrilling. We're somewhere in the midwest and we hit an air pocket. My beer left the glass and went up, and after we finally caught air, it came down in my lap. We dropped about 200 feet in a split second. Quite thrilling if you've never experienced it.

[SuperDud]

I work at the Cincinnati airport. Sometimes when we got nothin to do we will sit on an access road that goes around the main runway and just watch the planes come in. Other day there was a German MD11(BIG PLANE!) cargo plane cleared for takeoff and postioned on the runway. Well as we're watching it start to roll(takes it awhile to get going) I happen to look behind it and see a CRJ about 2 miles back coming in for landing. It was obvious from where I was sitting that there was no way for the MD11 to be up and outta the way by the time that CRJ arrived. But, the CRJ just kept right on coming! To make a long story short, just as the MD11 got front wheels up, the CRJ seemed to realize what was up and immediatly started a go around. Welp the MD11 couldn't see the CRJ about 2000-4000ft slightly above and behind him(and not much he could do anyways) and was just starting to lift off the ground. If the planes woulda kept on the same headings, theres not a doubt in my mind they woulda hit. Luckily the CRJ broke hard left and got outta the way. It was so close I had that lump in my throat feeling! I just wonder how those pilots felt:eek:


Another situation I was amazed to see was at the 2004 Dayton airshow. At one point they had the F15 doing it's fly over and manuevers. Welp just as they announce the F15's taking off, my g/f wants to go to the car to get something(a 2 mile walk lol) So as we're walking to the car I'm trying to watch what I can. We get to the car which is right under the final approach for the Dayton airport. So my g/f get's here things and we start walking back. I see the F15 coming in from my 3 oclock position and behind me. I also see a 737 coming in from dead 6 behind me. I'm still not sure if the F15 pilot did this on purpose(which I very highly doubt someone would even consider being this dumb with peoples lives) but I suddenly hear him hit full throttle and the 2 aircraft meet right above where me and my g/f are. The F15 only about 500-1000ft in front of the 737!!! The F15 was so low and throttled up so high that we had to cover our ears and I could feel my chest vibrating, which is something b/c I'm around aircraft all the time and don't have to do this. The F15 zooms away easily, but the poor 737 is shaking like a leaf in the wake of the F15, that or the pilot was shaking lol. I'm not sure if they can communicate with each other but I'm sure the 737 had a few choice words for the F15. I think the F15 pilot should try out for the Blue Angels, the way he pulled in right in front of the 737 was flawless lol. Looking back now and knowing no one was hurt, that was probably one of the coolest things I've seen.

[VWE]

Next time you have a landing like that, as your walking out ask the peelot "Did we just land or get shot down?"... a little old lady asked that to a peelot one nastly landing I was treated to.

[StarOfAfrica2]

F-15s are amazing.    Ive seen them take off from Lambert and no sooner get the wheels off the runway than the plane stands on its tail like a rocket and shoots straight up.  Coolest thing.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by SFCHONDO
You want interesting Flying, I suggest flying in a C-130 in Alaska. I was stationed there for 5 years and some of the dinky places we landed in some extremely crappy weather was interesting at best. God I miss it....LOL

I have a healthy respect for what those planes can do.  A few years ago I took my son to his first Cardinals game on 4th of July.  St Louis always hosts a big airshow during the VP Fair, so we got to sit in the ballpark and watch the game, and still see a good bit of the airshow too.  They did some great aerobatics, but the capper for me was these guys flying a C-130 down so low I thought sure they would hit something.  They flew it below the Arch!  Whoever was flying that thing had balls of steel (of course, this was before 9/11).

[WarRaidr]

these are all great stories another interesting place to fly into is Acapulco, the runway is right on the beach and you come in low over the water ....first time i went there i thought we were making a water ditch

[Knite]

If you want some fun, definitely fly into Reno, NV USA

Reno is a high altitude city, that also happens to be in a "bowl" valley. To top it all off, the airstrip is in he MIDDLE of the south end of town. (Let's put it this way... I lived south of the airport, worked west of the airport by 5 blocks, and partied north of the airport.

Basically a landing consistitutes of

A) Where's the bloody landing strip?
B) Hmmm.... That Hilton is getting really damn close
C) GAH! What are they doing, flying sideways?
D) *BAM*

*Knite kisses the tarmac*

[JB73]

Originally posted by 2stony
    Not a landing, but still thrilling. We're somewhere in the midwest and we hit an air pocket. My beer left the glass and went up, and after we finally caught air, it came down in my lap. We dropped about 200 feet in a split second. Quite thrilling if you've never experienced it.

flying from milwaukeeto omaha to miami for a criuse....

comming into omaha in a smaller plane, we see a dC10 or something big off to the right and higher, in a steep climb.


he had obviously just taken off, and wer were somewhere in the landing pattern. anyhoo... flew right into his wash or something. wer were maybe 8,000 feet, and droped like a STONE. 2 people flew up out of their seats (morons didnt have seat belts on even though we were in the landing path).

aftwards pilot came on and apologized rather irate sounding (like someone had told him the wrong place to fly i'd guess). he said we dropped about 1,100 feet in about 1 second.

that was the scariest thing i have ever experianced in my life.

to this day i wont ride one of those "drop" rides at 6 flags or wherever

[eskimo2]

Juneau is a fun airport:








eskimo

[Grits]

Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.

What part of St Louis are you from SA2? I lived in Edwardsville over on the east side for 6 years. My poor sister still lives there.

[Stang]

I really believe pilots are no better at what they do than what everyone else in the population does.  Think of it in the terms of athletics: less than 1% of the entire population excells at any given sport, and I believe this goes for anything, including flying.  Maybe he was just a wanna be ho-tarding lala punk

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by Grits
Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.

What part of St Louis are you from SA2? I lived in Edwardsville over on the east side for 6 years. My poor sister still lives there.

Actually grew up in Illinois over by Mt Vernon.  We had a nice little airport there until the days of the jets passed us by (back when Ozark was operational).  TWA operated small jets there for awhile and then decided it was too unprofitable.  Now its just a few private planes and the medical choppers flying out of there.

Last 6 years or so I lived either in St Louis proper or on the west side in St Charles county.  I worked at the NS railyard at the GM plant in Wentzville MO until I moved to Hawaii.

Heh, Edwardsville (at SIUE) was where we used to go when I was a teenager if you wanted to party till you puked and absolutely KNOW somebody would have pot.  If you wanted all that plus getting laid you went to Carbondale (SIUC).   Mostly though, us country boys just got drunk out in the middle of nowhere, stared up at the stars at night and wished we were anywhere else but there.  Be careful what you wish for lol.

[Cobra412]

Think the scariest landing I've ever been on was a combat landing in a C-130.  Went to a location in North Africa and had to do a rapid decent landing just as we came into the pattern.  Funny part was even our fighters that landed their said they had a wild ride.  Apart from having to do a rapid decent also they had to pray that all the dogs running across the runway would get the heck out of the way in time.

[bob149]

Khe sann(forgive the spelling ) landings in Herc's used to be lots of fun , you could run around the wheel well area when the jockey pushed  the nose down  , that is until the raf toned  down the heavy a/c displays.