Which is the hardest airport to land at?

[C Harrison]

Where in the world is the hardest airport to land at?. .. .Maybe Gibraltar or Hong Kong!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

[Hot Rod]

Sorry to deviate from the thread about landings in the first reply. This one is about takeoff:. .Tajikistan´s Dushanbe airport runway is probably one of the roughest runways in the world to take off from. I have myself whitnessed the ground spoilers deploy on an L-1011 during takeoff run due to the g-forces on the handle itself. Not fun at all to get the takeoff warning to sound at high speed on a high weight takeoff. Can´t be nice to the airframe either... Airport is at about 2000 ft with MSA at about FL 200.

[shon7]

Haven't done it personally but I was curious about the same. The answer I got from majority of pilots - Hong Kong, Kai Tak - now closed. You can look up a lot of pictures of this approach and some video files on the internet. Have been trying to get an actual approach plate to the airport but no luck- if you find one let me know.. .. .Another interesting airport is the Bombay airport in India. Have to fly over hutments for approach and landing. Lot of potholes in the runway - very challenging taxi- check out this article -. .. .<a href="http://www.the-week.com/98dec20/events4.htm" target="_blank">http://www.the-week.com/98dec20/events4.htm</a>

[TwinNDB]

Its a shame this seems to be resticted to "airports" and not all places in which we can land. I'm sure the guys in PNG and such places would have some different views. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

[ronnie123]

i have friends who fly out of bombay all the time.. .the hutments pose no danger to flt safety.. .yes in todays day and age they are a risk, from terrorists.. .but then the whole of india is in risk of that, from the friendly neghbour.

[GlueBall]

To be sure, circling a Heavy unto Rwy 17 at Quito, Ecuador, (Elevation 9228') will get your adrenaline moving. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

[Check 6]

Landing at Gibraltar is challenging for military aircraft, because flying through Spanish airspace is not allowed. This makes for a very close-in base leg for RWY 09, and the subsequent tight turn to final. Prior bush experience helps. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

[LimaNovember]

I would define the 800 m east-west runway at Honningsvag Airport close to North Cape as interesting. Especially during the winter season. I do not have an approach chart at hand, but if one of the pilots from Wideroe Flyveselskap (Dash-8 operator)would care to add to this, I`m thankful.. .. .Another interesting approach was the VOR/NDB approach to Kabul Airport. In 1989 with something like 9 years of war and bad maintenance on the nav aids, the VOR needle behaved like a windshield wiper. But with blue sky and unlimited visibility the approach must be one of the most scenic I can remember.. . . . <small>[ 16 March 2002, 16:34: Message edited by: LimaNovember ]</small>

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

C Harrison,

When I was flying for the airlines, Telluride Colorado was the hardest airport I ever flew into.

Specs:

http://www.tellurideairport.com/images/view.jpg

http://www.tellurideairport.com/images/cover.jpg


Telluride Regional Airport
Telluride, CO
N 37 deg. 57.2' W 107 deg. 54.5'
Elev: 9,078 ft

Caution: High Terrain exceeding 14,000 feet all quadrants. Exercise extreme caution when southerly winds exceed 15 kts. (rotor over runway, down draft in the middle of runway). Be cautious of down-drafts near abrupt terrain.

Notes: Safest approach is from the west (Placerville). Stay on right side of valley to avoid traffic conflicts.

Runways: 9/27 6,870 x 100ft., 64 ft. dip in middle (1.9% slope). MIRL, REIL.

The most fun is the instrument approach. From start to finish you drop 20 feet. You start the approach at 3,000 feet above airport elevation and at the missed approach point you are at 2,980 feet above the airport elevation.

Happy Flying,

Capt. Richard J. Gentil. Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.

<<Edited fix formatting from the convertion to current forum software>>

[Hot Rod]

Another interesting airport is Helgoland in the North Sea. 3 runways and the longest one is 400m. I was there last summer and was lucky to arrive on a day when they had a beer festival... Nice island. Another (small) problem is the fact that the tower speaks only german...

[Broken Wings]

Kathmandu in Nepal is probably the most interesting as you can only approach from the south and the VOR/DME is critical as you have several gate hight/ranges - bust them and you'll smack into the mountain. The SID and MAP is spiral climb in the overhead until you reach a gate height and then you can shoot off down a valley to continue the climb. Its over 4000 ft and often quite hot. . .. .First time I went in there it was VMC and when you realise how close the mountain sides are it ceratainly maked me concentrate on the plate when I later went in IMC! I've flown the old HK curved ILS and Kathmandu is just as exciting, if not more so.

[polzin]

I'm with Glueball..............Quito.

[Bigmouth]

Skardu, Pakistan.. .Not the most difficult, (VMC only, MSA close to 30000´) but definitely one of the most fun and gorgeous approaches.

[Jet A1]

Having recently operated into both Gibraltar and Funchal, they are definitely not the norm. They can both be run of the mill days out if the wx is ok but once the wx turns a bit grotty both places are quite sporting !! Especially in an airbus !!!

[Jetdriver]

All of them !

[druglord]

I've been on some with dog-legs in the rwy. That's right take off with a heap of right rudder. Of course in PNG that's probably standard. Maybe someone from there could fill us in???

[Avi8tor]

Nelspruit, South Africa (FANS)in a J-41 was always fun. 1080m at 2800ft, mostly temps in the upper 20's & lower 30's with a 4% slope and only 9m of tar, rest classified as gravel. I had an ATC from JNB on the jump seat, he asked if the radio modellers minded us using their field.

[PAXboy]

Nelspruit - ah yes. The first time I went in there as Pax, it was in a Fairchild Metroliner. I could lean into the aisle and look out the front. The strip looked non existant and we landed whilst (essentially) going uphill! We stopped just short of the fence, the other side of which, unconcerned locals were waiting in the car park!. .. .I understand that the J41 is even tighter and Captains have to be certified to operate NLP, the FO is not allowed to land or depart. One of the main reasons is that there is a VERY limited amount of space between the main gear and the edge of the strip. They have to decellerate sharpish and pretty much open the flight deck window and chuck an anchor out for good measure.. .. .They are going to miss it when the new field opens!

[Flight Detent]

Hi all,. .I'm surprised someone mentioned Rwy13 at Kai Tek, I thought that one was no more or less difficult than many others.. .But I do agree with the Katmandu approach, get this one wrong and you will not live a long and happy life! - great view though!

[OzExpat]

Druglord... since you ask, yeah we have one or two like that, but the kink in the strip isn't usually the biggest operational problem. It's more likely to be the ridge line just off the take-off end, or the turbulence that can really stuff up an already critical landing approach.

Here's a few others to maybe keep you a bit entertained...

Ononge Airstrip, elev 5700FT (http://www.fototime.com/96F42B89BF395D6/standard.jpg)
500 metres long, clay surface, 5% slope.

Gonaili Airstrip, elev 10FT (http://www.fototime.com/3798A27C53AEFF7/standard.jpg)
1065 metres long, gravel surface, 2% up slope for take-off ... and then you have to clear the hill off the departure end of the strip.

Cape Gloucester Airstrip (http://www.fototime.com/EB3D1640A065EAB/standard.jpg)
I only threw this one in for a bit of dramatic effect. There's nothing difficult about this place, except maybe predicting when the volcano is going to blow!

[TwoDogs]

Shon 7. .There are some Kai Tak approach charts available here <a href="http://home.netvigator.com/~pashford" target="_blank">http://home.netvigator.com/~pashford</a>. .but they can be a b1tch to view sometimes cos of download limits. If you have a problem just e-mail me and I will send them to you.. . . . <small>[ 28 March 2002, 09:50: Message edited by: TwoDogs ]</small>

[jmore]

the take off and landing at Saba airport in the carribean are probably the most fun and challenging i have encountered -the runway is 1300ft above sea level and 400metres long with sheer drops into the sea at either end -thrilling -it is served by a variety of airlines usually operating twotters <img src="http://www.turq.com/saba/saslide13.html" alt="" />

[Check 6]

How about St. Barts? I have only landed there in helicopters. Flew over Saba a few times, also looks a little exciting.:D

[Nano 763]

I definitely agree with Quito Rwy 17 in a heavy. Although when I flew the 732, we used to fly to La Paz, Bolivia 13,313'. That was a heap of fun too, though circling in the 73 is easier than a heavy.

[safety_worker]

An airport in which the flight crew are not "prepared" (briefing/situation awareness, etc.) to land in - any prevailing conditions!;)

[OXOGEKAS]

What about "SAMOS" airport, in Greece?
Anyone landed there, with N-NE 20-30kts? (09-27)
It's an adventure!
Another tricky airport, is LGRP (Rhodes), with winds blowing from 110-180 degrees, exceeding 15 kts (yes fifteen), will bring you in an uncontrolable situation, "just like that"!
Few years ago, I saw an L1011, scraching his No1 on the tarmac, excecuting a go-around, and diverting to LGIR (Heraclion), to land there, with a bended wing! (and all with a 12-16 kts wind!
So, when you are flying there, keep your eyes open!
SANTORINI (LGSR), with winds from 180-320, exceeding 20 kts, the aerodrome (for the major Greek company), becomes unsuitable for revenue flights.
There are actually some problems (not such as mentioned above), with the new Athens airport LGAV, ,where wind shears are very common. Sometimes (90%), there is GPWS alert, when excecuting ILS 03R.
Anyone who wants more info?

[Tan]

shon7


I still have my - Hong Kong, Kai Tak - approach plates. If you would like me to e-mail them to you, provide me with a e-mail address.

Tan

[PAXboy]

S-S points out: An airport in which the flight crew are not "prepared" (briefing/situation awareness, etc.) to land in - any prevailing conditions!

Some years ago waiting for a routine LHR to IOM (Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea) on a 146.

Announcement that the machine had a bird ingestion on arrival and must return empty, we shall be carried by British Midland, using their stand-by machine which was a 737-400.

On the way over, I was wondering if the Captain had ever operated into IOM before, as the runway finishes 50 yards short of the sea and the other end crosses over Castletown and then ... the sea! Also, there is both a dip and a hill in the main rwy!

We had the westerley approach, over the sea. It seemed that, almost as soon as there was anything approximating firm land underneath, the p/f placed the a/c FIRMLY on the ground and applied some of the strongest braking I recall ....

They did, of course, stop in plenty of time but, from the charts and the air, it probably looked less than inviting!

[rubik101]

Runmay 36 at Calvi poses a few interesting problems. Aim at the quarry, 40 Flap downwind, 1000 fpm rod on the base turn line up, if you are lucky ,with about half a mile to run to touchdown. Not for the faint hearted in a 737, never mind anything bigger. BTW, has anyone put anything bigger than a 737-800 in there?

[OneWorld22]

When I was flying, Bogota always was a hairy approach in a 747, surrounded by mountains and also unrelaible nav aids, the BOG VOR always seemed to be intermittant and unreliable.
Kai Tek always had you alert and I always enjoyed the Canarsie 13L approach at JFK, that had you on your toes! Quito was interesting as well.

There's a few more tricky to watch out for, mainly for obstacles,
usually mountains!

Basle, Iraklion, Bergen, Corfu, Madeira, Mikanos,

And I always hated Milan in the winter.

[Speedbird777]

Was wondering when someone would mention the Canarsie 13L approach. Never flown it but have done it in the sim a couple of times - seemed fairly interesting. Anyone else think this is a tough one?

[Mister Geezer]

Kathmandu RWY 02 is exhilarating to watch as a passenger, down the back. Must be superb to actually fly the approach! Some of the best flying around IMHO!

MG

[Herc Jerk]

If someone can tell me how to put pictures on this BB from my cumfuter, i will show the requested PNG "kink" and also a 17 degree sloped rwy...

And for larger metal, what about Cuzco, Peru? 13,000' odd elev, one way sloped up a valley with what looked to be no healthy overshoot...

[Stickies]

Talking about Cuzco(Peru)the biggest types using that airport are
737/727s.Most (all?)of the flights are scheduled for AM because landings are always on 28 and take offs on 10,the winds are generally westerly and usually exceed the tailwind limit for takeoff
by PM.Airfield sits at 10700ft with MSAs exceeding 20000ft and the temp.is around ISA plus 20.I remember being a pax out of there a couple of years ago,took off (732)and after 5mins or so of max chat/angle climb we were no more than 1000ft or so above the terrain,spectacular views though!

[Chris Wannabe]

http://home.netvigator.com/~pashford/kaitak_photos_1.html

Give this a go;) ;)

[Travelling Toolbox]

Ozexpat

Gee it's been awhile, and the SP got my brain cells.

What was the name of the airstrip outside Moresby where on touchdown, you had to apply full power to get to the parking bay upslope? A one wayer too for interest! :eek:

Only went in there once on a rescue with me spannas and a coupla magnetos. Pilot didn't tell me what was in store. I didn't think we were going to stop and then he went to full power on what I new was a one way strip! I thought "Oh well it's been a nice life, but here is where it ends.":(

I did the right thing and sent my visiting brother-in-law in on a dawn flight not long after that to share the experience. :D

[Herc Jerk]

Which one mate? Plenty of 'em. Might you be thinking of west of Moresby, over near Kerema... little place called Kianteba? Parking bay is kind of level at the top with a bit of marsden matting as a gutter and then the strip falls away (literally) down the valley?

[John Farley]

C Harrison

Don't be led up the garden path. Below about 8000 feet above sea level there is no such thing as a difficult airfield to land at if you have the right aeroplane for the job.

[OzExpat]

TT... kind of a tall order mate. Most of the "jungles" strips are like that, likewise around the Goilala. In fact, take your pick between NW, N and NE of AYPY - there's a right sh!tload of 'em. I didn't go into the "jungles" strips very much (ie NE of AYPY) but one real candidate there that I well recall is Efogi.

Around the Goilala, there's places like Erume, Tapini and Fane, to name but a few.

Further afield than that, the list is almost endless. Sorry that I can't narrow it down for you.

[gofer]

Kai Tak and Gib as a PAX or jump certainly rate high

Avoriaz - anybody care to comment ?

Those Greek Islands have their quirks also - but more for the jockey than the PAX.

Would think somebody might want to add Bern-Belp and Lugano to the list of hands-full on landing. :p

oneWorld22

Interesting to list BSL/MLH/EAP, surely its only problem is if you're taking off east and have no power, but that has to be true of many places (and yes I did leave one of my moggie lives there as we only just made left of the 4th floor of the Kantonsspittal - that close, that building is BIG - especially with not enough scrabble power & too much weight).:eek:

If one thinks of take-offs then ZRH in a fully loaded 747 always has its thrills - rotate before you run out of strip - light left so as to miss the airport buildings - but not tooooo far so as to stay over the highway and not hit the Hilton on the left or the Moevenpick on the right & and get the gear up quick so as to clear the bridges - as your scrabble power is really on the brink.

The SIA's SQ 345 ZRH-SIN may do it daily but as a PAX I still want the window seat on the Port side to wave to the wife in the Hilton car-park, before she drives home. Her logic is that if we make that far OK the chances are the rest will be a doddle and if we don't at least she'll know why. :eek:

[Travelling Toolbox]

Thanks Oz and Herc. Yeah I am a bit vague but it has been quite a few years. I will do some more research and get back to you guys with just where this place is. It's bugging me now. I remember circling down in the valley next door and then flying up a river. We sighted the threshold only seconds before touchdown.

Yes I remember Fane well! Beautiful place. Nice vegies and a nice place for lunch - if you timed it right. Way back in the early 80's a Douglas Nomad took off out of there and it got real exciting real quick. This aircraft had the pre-mod engine cowls.Without getting too technical, the chin cowl had a spring loaded intake mouth wihich loaded against the compressor lip. It had a type of sponge rubber that could compress and expand to allow the removal and refit of the cowl. Well you know how often those prop boxes use to make metal and the chip plugs had to come out. The sponge got oil soaked and disbonded.

This particular aircraft had had copius amounts of Jet 11 leaked all over this sponge and just as the Nomad rotated off the end of the strip - BANG! The sponge let go and sucked down the compressor throat. The engine spooled back to idle and the Nomad "fell" off the end of Fane.

:eek: :eek:

He picked up speed "on the way down" into the valley and took the scenic root back to Moresby out to the coast.

Nice job by the pilot in a ****-my-pants situation. :cool:

[Nano 763]

How about Vitoria, Brazil.......never heard of it......we fly in regularly in the 763 at MGLW (147,871kg)......Only 1750m of runway.......no ILS......no PAPI

[Johnman]

Aqaba (OJAQ ) R/W 20 if you are not familiar.

[Officedesk]

Where's the Brit Med guys and gals?

I'm told Tblisi, Addis Ababa, Kabul and Tehran are particularly dicey. All mountainous and notoriously poor ATC.

[AirbusPilot]

LPMA/FNC rwy05 Madeira Island in Portugal, not a good one to land if the wx turns nasty, ie: wind.

Take a look at this:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/297683/M/

and

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/244795/M/



Regards
JC

[Lime Rock]

All the ones with concrete???:)

[Smokie]

Dunstable Downs is always a hoot in a 12ton A/C ..!!!

And Bluey West 1 in Greenland is a giggle aswell if its still there ! ;)

[123567]

I don't know about airports in the Northern Hemisphere, But wellington airport in NZ would have to be the worst i've had the pleasure of operating into.

regular spar on turbulance and windshear and winds of 40 kts gusting 50 kts are common.

[BusBoy]

Sumburgh (LSI) Past the lighthouse at 500' in a 45 degree left turn for 35.
Or the circle for 17 off the 09 ILS in poor wx (normal) and the downdraft from the high ground to the south.

Agree with Madira, Rhodos, Kerkira
How about Milas Bodrum in Turkey. V scary place especially in the event of EFATO.

Re. Take off bumpy runways how about Banjul (BJL) in Gambia. I know it's a Shuttle relief runway but it's bloody bumpy.

[lörtsch]

G' day
take a look at courchevel airport in france.
this is a airport, isn't it...... www.dangerous-airports.com/airports/I/lflj.htm (http://www.dangerous-airports.com/airports/I/lflj.htm)

[Ace Rimmer]

My thoughts exactly Lima November Honingsvag certainly gets the attention as well as an number of other points on the Wideroe Finnmark network not just 'interesting' approaches to short runways but some pretty extreme conditions especially in the winter months. Those guys and gals at Wideroe have cojones that come in one size... XXXXL.

[Rob767]

hi,
1 of the hardest landings is got 2 be Innsbruk because ur right in the mountains and u turn for finals at 6000 thats the safe altitude. Any charter pilots who fly into it will now wot i mean.
very tricky
You need a special rating to land there overwise u cant do it. Your so close 2 the mountains its unbelivable.
Rob767

[efcop]

I would suggest Lugano in Switzerland LSZA, Yerevan in Armenia or Skiathos in Greece

[Background Noise]

Probably a moving one - ask the RN guys about landing big helos on postage stamps in a rolling sea ;)

[timmcat]

I started a similar thread last year.. link here (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44856) if anyone's interested.

Tim

[Ignition Override]

Maybe Eagle, CO (EGE) is one of them. However, my company only lets the 757 into there because it has the climb capability with single-engine. By the way, based on the NTSB website, a chartered Learjet was sent there years ago and attempted a circling approach at night. Apparently, nobody told the crew about the very high mountains close by.

Our approach into runway 25, from somewhere Kremmling VOR, requires a sim session once per year and the approach is a sort of angled (FMC/VNAV only) LDA. You should see the paragraphs with tiny print which contain very exacting procedures for approach (25) and departure (7 or 25). How about in northern Italy, where some of you folks fly? Too bad that at Jackson Hole, Wy, the C-130 crew (carrying a truck for the Secret Service plus agent ) had those crappy NOS charts with no charted procedure to help show them, graphically, how to get out.

Some Captains avoid Eagle when they bid for their monthly schedules.

Tegucigalpa in Guatamala City has had many accidents. Never mind Quito, Ecuador.

What would Continental or American pilots say about Latin America?

[Tcas climb]

Bluey West 1 is still there, its called Narsarsuaq BGBW/UAK.

The NDB-DME approach in minima weather is a challange, there is a lot of coastal refraction, so you have to know in wich direction to look, as the needle really is'nt pointing at the airfield.
Also, know you missed approach, or you WILL hit mountains.

There used to be a letdown proceedure, were you came below clouds 15 minutes flight from the field and then navigated thru the fjordsystem to the field. This was a dangerous maneuvre, as if you took a wrong turn, many of the fjords were so small that there was no way out again.

I forgot to tell you, nearest airport with a runwaylenght of more than 1000 meters is Sondrestromfjord and that is 432 NM away.
You may wan't to have fuel to go to Keflkavik that is 749 NM away.

All this really made it quite easy to fly there, in doubt no doubt, lots of fuel, offloading of pax and cargo.

Once I diverted from there, flying over the Inlandice towards Sondrestromfjord. We encountered severe icing, max continuos power and best ice speed gave us a descent of 300 fpm. We had to make a 90 degree turn towards the coast. Our unwilling descent stopped way below the height of the ice and mountains along the coast.

Those were the days :)

[buoy15]

Gib with the wind 210 and anything above 18 gusting 25
who'd wanna go there anyway - it's a toilet