Plane Struggles To Land In High Winds At Notorious Airport

A video shows the moment a plane attempts to land in terrifying crosswinds at one of the most dangerous airports in the world - Madeira Airport. This Portuguese landing strip, also known as Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is infamous for its bumpy landings and it is one of the hardest places to land a plane in the world. The strong winds, as well as a short runway and sheer drop into the ocean at the end, make it difficult with many pilots requiring additional training.

A flight coming from Zurich in Switzerland, has many difficulties to land on the island. It can be seen battling to land during a routine flight. The crosswinds are brutal and tip the whole jet violently forwards and backwards. The plane flips sharply on its side before dipping forwards, straightening up only moments before the wheels touch the ground. It fails three attempts to land and finally manages to land on the fourth one!

The flight is operated by Edelweiss on an Airbus 320. As it touches down, one wheel lands whilst the other hovers in the air, as the aircraft can be seen swaying and landing almost sideways on the runway. After a tense moment, both wheels then land on the tarmac successfully as it then continues down the runway.

Despite the shocking nature of the video, these types of landings aren’t unusual on the windy stretch. Pilots often have to abort landings altogether and fly to other airports instead, depending on the weather conditions.

We congratulate the pilot’s excellent skills. Great job!