This illustrates the problem of landing an aircraft when there is a
significant component of the wind across the runway. The reported wind speed
was 155mph, although I've not found the relative angle to the runway, so
don't know what the crosswind component was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42fchrzhHY
For the non-pilots, the pilot is doing what is known as a crab approach -
keeping the wings level and turning the aircraft into the wind so that it is
travelling in a different direction to the way it is pointing. The angle can
be seen quite clearly as it crosses the fence and later by comparing the way
the aircraft is pointing to the direction of the runway. This is the usual
way to bring in a large aircraft - private pilots are more usually taught to
fly in straight, with one wing low, which allows the aircraft to correct for
the crosswind by side-slipping into the wind. That is easier to learn, but
it would be disconcerting to passengers in a large aircraft and it also puts
a sideways load on the first wheel to touch down.
Most large aircraft can allow for a certain amount of crosswind by steering
the wheels, so that they point along the runway while the nose still points
into the wind. However, the wind here is obviously well above that point and
the pilot is left having to flip the aircraft into line just before
touchdown - a difficult thing to get right, as this clip shows. A similar
situation lead to my only off-runway excursion after which I had to ground
loop (like a spin in a car) the aircraft to avoid colliding with an
aircraft waiting on a taxiway.
Colin Bignell
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