Frightening Landing Attempts At Manchester Airport
Aviation relies heavily not only on the people that work in the industry but also on the weather. As extreme weather conditions, such as snowstorms or volcano eruptions force airlines to cancel, delay or divert flights. Heavy wind is a huge factor as well. But even with heavy crosswinds, carriers are determined to make sure that their passengers reach their destinations. Extreme wind is not something that is unheard of in the United Kingdom. In the winter this is uncommon, as just under a month ago an Emirates flight EK35 from Dubai to Newcastle experienced a terrifying landing attempt at Newcastle. This time, 150 miles south of Newcastle International Airport, Manchester Airport experienced even heavier winds this weekend. As the United Kingdom was experiencing heavy winds, Manchester Airport faced wind gusts of over 70 km/h. As a result, aircraft landing on the 05L/23R runway were subject to very heavy crosswinds. Some aircraft even experienced heavy tailwinds.
6 Aborted Landings
The weather conditions forced flights to do a go around and try landing once more. While most of the aircraft experienced wind shear, some had a very unstable approach. In total, 6 pilots had to abandon their landing attempts. Lufthansa Flight LH942 from Frankfurt had to abandon their landing due to the unstable state of the aircraft. A Titan Airways Flight ZT508 from Chambery abandoned their landing when the aircraft encountered wind shear. Same happened with Jet2 Flight LS936, easyJet Flight U21864 and another Jet2 Flight EXS211M. Meanwhile, Centreline Embraer E550 had to abandon their landing during the flare phase. As we watch the video, we admire the skill and bravery of the pilots. To attempt and successfully land an aircraft in these conditions requires quite tener cojones! The people, who were onboard the flight, can attribute to that. For example, one passenger who was onboard the Jet2 flight from Kitilla said that “Every day after this one is a gift.”! Another one admired the pilots for their skill: “Flipping heck, the pilot did a brilliant job getting us through that though!” Watch the video compilation of all 6 abandoned flights here: