Grogu007
52644
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Lukla airport in Nepal
Gustaf Ill Airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy
Santos Dumont Airport, Brazil
Courchevel Altiport in French Alps
Bhutan Airport, only 25 pilots worldwide qualified to land here
Leh Airport
Princess Juliana International Airport, on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten
sacrosanctt
#8 been to this one a lot. Lived there for a year. There was a nearby island that is a tourist destination. The name eludes me after all these years. But you'd fly there from st maarten on a little cesna, and the runway was on the top of a cliff and just short enough to land. The landing required a stall out. If you still had too much speed to stop you'd need to fall off the cliff, start the prop again and circle back. Take off was just driving off the cliff, similar to the nepal one.
ricpaul
#8 I landed there and proceeded a few hours later to land here...
malachipyronomicon
Hong Kong's now-closed Kai Tak airport
ActuallyAPirate
#4 https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1bHhzYmN3Z2hoZTd6cmdmbm1pNGRyanp6aXZvMno1a2IyNzY0OHVjYSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/WKAORUFLE5Lva/200w.webp
bleggs
Those downhill takeoff airports don't leave much room for error huh
amp99
Also see: "Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (IATA: SAB, ICAO: TNCS) is an airport on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, Netherlands. Its runway is widely acknowledged as the shortest commercial runway in the world, with a length of 400 m (1,312 ft)." https://en.wikiped">_Airport">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juancho_E._Yrausquin_Airport https://youtu.be/zVpmmrEU7iM
Dissipo
#3 That’s a big rock in the background!
WestChief378
#1 This airport was a landing challenge on the new version of MS Flight Sim, and I LOVED it... Such a cool place to attempt to land at, the hill it pretty steep!
jargonmon
#1 and #4
FelixGeralt
It’s not flying it’s falling with style
criggie
#6 I've never seen it, but I've heard it described as the one with the road across the middle - Gibraltar.
petpet3d
#4 is this the same airstrip as in the opening scene of GoldenEye?
naiveDigit
Yes
KevinStrexcorp
Queenstown, NZ, is famous for having to approach from one direction in order to miss the mountain, then make a sharp turn in order to land on the runway. Freaks a lot of people out.
CrapsMcgee
Saint Barthélemy and St Maarten are insane. How are there not more accidents of flying just 1 foot to low and catching a fence, guardrail, or pedestrian with landing gear?
Myowngrampa
Maybe they do?
iMakeFakeLegs
I was at the st martin one last year, I feel like the camera angle is elevated, looking down on the crowd bc none of the planes landed that low, at least what I experienced/saw
highisophotography
Camera angle and focal compression make St Maarten look way lower than any planes actually are. The wife and I were out there in January and while it’s low it was not near as low as I was expecting.
cheesedogs
I spent about 2 years on a nearby island and I went to that beach a lot. 90% of airplanes don't get so low and it's rare to see them cut it that close. Way more incidents on take offs
HotCarle
I've never seen them this low at st. Maarten. I think the camera angle makes it look worse. The real fun is when people try to hold on to the fence across the street while the big 4 engine planes take off. Look up Maho Beach takeoffs on YouTube for some entertainment.
spankeyfish
#6 is Gibraltar
RichardFenn
I drove across that a few years ago, I was so stupidly excited about it, almost the best bit of the holiday :D
jimmymcgoochie1
I walked across it a couple of times. Don't wander too far because it's also an active military base.
joemac65
I lived there in the early 70's when the border was closed. You walked across the runway then . There were 2 sets of gates and guards. Our side was wide open, the Spanish side locked. People went to take pics by the gate. Sometimes there would be family members chatting either side. The fear of a plane landing while we were crossing remains with me today, even though we had plenty of warnings about landing times it seemed like a really long walk
joemac65
the border i rmember
catsandtardis
Yup! But I'm pretty sure they added a new route around the airport so the runway crossing isn't in use / or not nearly as busy anymore.
spossistheboss
#6 Gibraltar
rile
Been on the plane that landed at St. Marten, seen planes land at Courchavel, Tivat, Montenegro should be on the list!
BitRoyal
#1 The moment the plane turned the wrong way and u-turned just to get an extra 20 ft, instantly knew that runway was gonna be SHORT.
ExTechOp
The way the video is sped up, I initially thought that's a model airplane.
micuu
The best part about that one isn't even shown in that video: just out of frame is a big brick wall at the end of the runway. It just ends there. With a solid wall.
TsubakiTragic
Correction: It didn't turn the wrong way. The pilot positioned to allow max runway length.
BitRoyal
He turned the opposite direction of the yellow taxiway centerline marking. That's what I described as "turning the wrong way" and let me know something was up (I assumed he was gonna make a u-turn for extra runway [aka "max runway length"] .. which he did). But I stand by my original point ... doing that for just 20 or 30 feet is definitely an indicator that this runway is short.
TsubakiTragic
I did 20 years on Air Force bases... this simply called backtracking. Used for offset taxiways.
BitRoyal
Also, this wasn't an offset taxiway. This taxiway was pretty much right at the end of the runway. It was a plane right at the limits of this airfield, either nervous about his skill or weight.
BitRoyal
Like ... yeah. Still agrees 100% with my original comment that you pedanted against. Backtracking is literally defined as driving the wrong direction down a runway or taxiway for approved purposes. My original comment, reworded: "I saw the pilot turning the wrong way (aka backtracking) down a runway, Then, when he very quickly u-turned, having intentionally backtracked for only 30 ft, I realized the runway must be SUPER short!"
JerzeeTomato
#5 https://youtu.be/aYU2uAsRZ6E?si=IyoO9N1cEO-R40Fh
AyatollahBahloni
Here's a landing at Paro airport in Bhutan. https://youtube.com/shorts/IsdcX_ddP5c?si=U1xkn5nmBj1MQMcc
oldshot
Thanks for that clip, really shows the twists and turns necessary for the setup
NR97420
From a glance it looks like landing a jet in Yosemite Valley
TheHuntedSnark
#5 I don't even see a landing strip here?
oldshot
Judging by the engine pod color, aren't the next three or four images of the same plane landing ?
Wikipedo
Only 25 pilots can land uphill on a winding road
dirque
Jeez, are you blind? It's right in front of you on the side of the mountain. /s
bourbonandbaddecisions
#4 is this the goldeneye airport?
MonkeyFunkingFunker
No, I thought so too, but that was filmed at Altiport de Peyresourde-Balestas
MonkeyFunkingFunker
And it was Tomorrow Never Dies, not Goldeneye (I was wrong on that one also, I need to brush up on my Bond).
mercyPandaRunner
Goldeneye also starts with a plane dropping off an altiport. The Dam is the Contra Dam in Ticino in the swiss alps. Though i don't know where they filmed the airplane stunt. The Panorama shot seems to be a miniature.
Interleaver11111111
Sticklebrickk
Top 3 Bond. Fight me.
Karma1970
I thought the same thing.
bourbonandbaddecisions
It is! https://youtu.be/IoUTm-K8qYw?si=DP7d6n7zbt1gK3BJ
Vebrandsson
It's actually the one from the opening scene of Tomorrow Never Dies
kruug
I think that's the Die Another Day airport
jalondon628
Suddenly have the urge to re-watch GoldenEye.
jashw
Invincible!!
spankeyfish
Lukla airport is constantly killing people. It's so hard to get any equipment into the area that, for a few weeks you could overfly the wreckage of the latest crash as you landed there.
Blimymyhat
And the scary part is landing since the end of the runway is just that rock wall. Flying out of there is a nightmare since the flights are always delayed due to weather.
slatsisanoldie
The chopper pads (half way down on the right) are where they wheel half their crashes to for parts reuse. If can’t reuse, they push it off the end of the runway. Source: flown in, out and walked all around Lukla
ThailandExpress
uden10
Wtf I thought that was snow!
Idsertian
*clears throat*
JRaven419
Unique up on them?
TanithRosenbaum
Honorable mention: Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, Rwy 13 checkerboard approach. RIP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4">aeZeyliw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kDaeZeyliw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gYENf3Zyho
WombatsRunAwaytoDig
I wondered if Leh would be in here! I flew into (and out of) Leh once ☺️ (as a passenger, to be clear)
jt42
Wasn't sure what was interesting about it from the video. Just the embankment to one side?
WombatsRunAwaytoDig
I'm not sure I know, tbh - it's at 14,000 feet, so high elevation, which I think combined with the mountainous geography made it "interesting" to OP?
Martellus
Anyone know the name of the plane in the first clip? I want to see if it exists in Flight Simulator.
hollenqual
Let L-410 Turbolet.
Martellus
I already got the answer from another fine gentleman, but i thank you anyway. https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJlb20ybjNhd3BqN3FyaHc4c2cyOWU5Z3ptMzQ3NzQ1ZmZidWNoeTk1MSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/LSoTVfTxuC29noNwvC/200w.mp4
SparrowTail3
I looked up registration code on the tail (9N-AMG). It's a Let L-410 Turbolet.
Looks like it just had a flight today! https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/9n-amg
Martellus
Damn, that’s some fine detective work. https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJldnFweHQ3a2locnh2MDl6NGs4OHA4anpzYjUwcWc2OHh0c3I4MDBiZiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/wL23aMJn2AhTa/200w.mp4
Johannesaurus
#5 Is this one supposed to be only 6 seconds long? I want to see why only 25 pilots are rated to land there!
FingerLickr
Maybe you just can't see all the 25 airports under the foliage?
Wikipedo
This pilot clearly isn't one of the 25
ZOMGNO
Having flown into Queenstown, NZ... looks similar. Complex approach through mountains with potential winds... the pilots both need to be qualified to do it and need to have back-up plans for when the wind changes in case you need to abort the landing, and its a short runway. This one actually looks like a decent length of runway!
AlfakaGordonShumway
What I can find it is actually around 50 who are currently qualified to land there and I guess that is commercial aircraft. Smaller ones I would think can still land there without "qualification"
Speebo30
My thoughts exactly.
Bugdaze
Maybe there were 26 before the video
OverfedLonghairedLeapingGnome1
I'm mad about it but I upvoted it anyway
pookieeatworld
https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1bGY2ZDllM3NydGVua3V1eTJtbjVxNzJ3aHNrYmdldmw4MXVlNnI5diZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/xkZFFLoJLIsWd3Eg9W/200w.webp
NoPunsNoLife
Because that's give or take how many are needed to serve that airport. It needs a complex approach, so the airlines rate only as many pilots as are needed.
JerzeeTomato
https://youtu.be/aYU2uAsRZ6E?si=IyoO9N1cEO-R40Fh
Raileks
Am I missing something? There's a mountain foot blocking the approach but it doesn't look to difficult to navigate. The airport looks plenty long enough to straighten out after moving around it.
ThatOtherMacAvoyWoman
I’m confused too
BoltActionGearbox
1) Instruments can't guide you through the terrain. You have to go in full manual mode and judge your approach by eyeballs only. 2) You have to bleed off a ton of altitude and speed very quickly without stalling, in a very big jet, at very high altitude. 3) You have to do this while also navigating around the mountains and trusting that you've lined up everything correctly well before you can actually see the final approach. 4) If you failed any of 1-3, it's just as dangerous on the way out.
swofromtherock
Basically they have to do what we normies think they're doing every time.
Cptbluebeard7
Same, it's pretty crazy as it turns out https://youtu.be/aYU2uAsRZ6E?si=AkjmFUayHgQXe07n
Deoxyribonucleicacidwashedgenes
Why does Stephen Hawking keep calling him a "retard" while he's trying to concentrate on landing?
waznewz
Lmao 🤣😂, you sir have won the interwebs today... Read your comment, then watched the video, then I tried watching it again, this time without the tears and laughter... Well done you. 👍
justfiguredoutimc4azyanddumbb
Because stupid is as stupid does. To be frank I doubt that's really Stephen hawking. I'm not sure but I'd wager he lacks a pilot license. See? Look at me go.
HollaAtchaKoi
Yeah, at the most crucial moment, the altimeter starts insulting him! Wow, have some chill...
beloculus
It’s because they need to navigate a narrow winding valley between ginormous mountains. There is no flat land in Bhutan for an airport. When I landed there at many points I swear the wingtip was only ~100’ from hitting a mountain. It has to be done VFR, too - I don’t remember why but flying in on instruments doesn’t work. As the kid of a pilot who grew up flying and is quite comfortable in planes…this approach and takeoff were terrifying.
TK421isAFK
It can be done in ILR, but the GPWS goes a little crazy with echoes from both sides, as I understand it.
SalmonTheWise
I'm going to take a wild guess that something about what the mountains are made of can block or disrupt or falsify the signals of the instruments and therefore you can't count on them. I know that Mount Fuji for example has a magnetic anomaly that affects compasses and if the wind picks up its volcanic ash it can interfere with electrical signals.
MyOtherPetIsACat
Incorrect. There are a couple of instrument procedures into Paro. VMC (which does not mean VFR) must be acquired when reaching the airfield, but the approach itself is still an instrument approach that can be performed in IMC.
ionlyregisteredtosavelinks
No-no, but the tiktok said it's all mystical and the technology - it simply does NOT work over there!!!!!11! Plus, didn't you hear, OC is a "kid of a pilot", they surely must know what they're talking about!