Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Only Eight Pilots Are Qualified to Land on This ‘Terrifying’ Runway
The Blaze ^ | Dec 30, 2011

Posted on 12/31/2011 7:27:28 AM PST by KeyLargo

Only Eight Pilots Are Qualified to Land on This ‘Terrifying’ Runway

There is a small airport in the Himalayan mountains with a 6,500-foot runway and picturesque surroundings. When flying into Paro Airport in Bhutan passengers may be staring in terrified awe of the 18,000-foot mountainous peaks or have their eyes squeezed tightly shut as the pilot weaves through the range.

But only eight pilots are qualified to fly into Paro. And up until earlier this year, only one airline serviced the airport. The Daily Mail reports that take off and landing can only take place in daylight hours:

The runway is just 6,500 feet long – one of the few in the world shorter than their elevation above sea level.

Planes have to weave through the dozens of houses that are scattered across the mountainside – coming within feet of clipping the roofs.

Strong winds whip through the valleys, often resulting in severe turbulence. Passengers who have been on flights to the airport have described the landing as ‘terrifying’.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Outdoors; Travel
KEYWORDS: airports; aviationping; himalays; mountains
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-74 last
To: CynicalBear

Now I must take Microsoft Flight Simulator there and see just how difficult it is.....


61 posted on 12/31/2011 4:43:22 PM PST by STYRO (Take this government and shove it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo
Worst for me was La Paz Bolivia - I used to land there in a C-141.

Elevation: 13,300 feet.

The terrain is really hideous, and the weather can be downright awful.

You have to be on oxygen to land there. No, the aircraft can't land pressurized. There is the wreckage of a C-141 that crashed into the mountains just a short distance from the main runway.

62 posted on 12/31/2011 4:48:33 PM PST by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: WorkingClassFilth

Tegucigalpa was a cakewalk on FS. Did you mean Toncontin International, or some other strip?


63 posted on 12/31/2011 4:55:50 PM PST by STYRO (Take this government and shove it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

LOL. That’s an understatement.


64 posted on 12/31/2011 4:58:14 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

I know some of the well-traveled globe-trotting folks here will chuckle, but as someone who has only flown within the continental US, the worst for me was flying in and out of Reagan after 9-11. The flight patterns were, and probably still are for all I know, very restricted, so, on takeoff the angle of ascent was VERY steep. I remember looking out the window straight down at Arlington Cemetery.


65 posted on 12/31/2011 5:07:12 PM PST by EternalVigilance (The Republican establishment: a Death Panel for Conservatism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: STYRO

Tegucigalpa. For me, as a passenger, it was enough. The jet must’ve dropped out of the air 20 feet when it hit the runway. I’m sure there are worse places, but that was the one I’ll always remember holding my breath on. Sorry, but I haven’t a clue what FS means.


66 posted on 12/31/2011 5:37:29 PM PST by WorkingClassFilth (Soon to be a man without a country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: Scotsman will be Free

There is a traffic light right at that garage ... at the corner of Laurel Street and Pacific Coast Highway. I was stopped there once in a convertible, waiting for the red light to change, when a big Delta plane came right over our head and dropped onto the runway about 100 yards in front of us. I shall never forget that moment.


67 posted on 12/31/2011 5:50:26 PM PST by RightField (one of the obstreperous citizens insisting on incorrect thinking - C. Krauthamer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: Northern Yankee

Happy New Year, Lass!


68 posted on 12/31/2011 6:08:41 PM PST by Northern Yankee (Where Liberty dwells, there is my Country. - Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

Some flight simulator fun in St. Louis (no, not Lambert Field):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtddgrO-SUU (from the east)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3EEPawrKo (from the west)


69 posted on 12/31/2011 6:14:25 PM PST by cynwoody
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: zot

I flew in an old Air America plane once - a Helio Courier if I remember correctly. It had bullet hole patches in the skin. The pilot flew the plane weaving through the mountains in northern Luzon in the P.I. He landed the aircraft running it right up the mountain side on a bumpy grass strip cut into the jungle. The pilot was Martin Burnham - a good brother and a great bush pilot.


70 posted on 12/31/2011 11:11:42 PM PST by WorkingClassFilth (Soon to be a man without a country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: RightField

That is cool. I’ve had similar experiences at the airport in Spokane, Wa. County road goes right past one end of the runway.


71 posted on 01/01/2012 4:44:06 AM PST by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: WorkingClassFilth

Sorry WCF. Microsoft Flight Simulator, aka FS. Combine this with Google Earth and you have the cheapest way to sightsee the world.


72 posted on 01/01/2012 5:12:41 AM PST by STYRO (Take this government and shove it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: WorkingClassFilth

I saw Helio Couriers working in Laos, but never flew in one.

Here is the link to my 1970 Vietnam journal:
http://bswett.com/RVN/1970.html


73 posted on 01/01/2012 10:59:01 AM PST by zot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: A.A. Cunningham

Yes, you are correct. And someone managed to get a photo of the airliner just seconds before it hit.


74 posted on 01/04/2012 4:45:22 PM PST by CIB-173RDABN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-74 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson