If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up. Try, try again.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) in the Netherlands is definitely one of the most spectacular airports in the world to go to if you want to see awesome stormy landings and go arounds with extreme crosswinds. And all of this within a few hundred yards from the runway with no fences. While its probably not that fun for the pilots, it’s always a joy to see the pilots battle the extreme crosswinds and gusts on runway 18R, also known as the Polderbaan. It’s on the bucketlist of many planespotters around the world. These 2 videos will either make you very thankful for not having to experience such a hairy go around and landing. Or it will be a moment you’ll never forget because you were totally reliant on the pilots skills and perhaps a prayer or two.
A new A350 goes around and gives it a second try
The first video, filmed on September 13, 2017 shows a China Airlines A350 performing a spectacular Go Around while flying perhaps only 10 feet above the runway before the pilot made the wise decision to add some thrust into those powerful Rolls-Royce engines to climb away from the runway to safer heights. The beautiful sound of this will put a smile on the face of many avgeeks. The A350 was already pretty far on the runway to land safely in those extreme conditions. This has got to be the most spectacular Go Around ever performed by a widebody airliner. If this wasn’t enough, the pilot showed his pilot skills on the second attempt to land the A350 with gusts up to 60 knots. The landing was so in control and so smooth, showcasing the pilot’s many flighthours of training and experience.
Video courtesy of Jerry Taha Productions
If at first you don’t succeed, the Emirates A380 tries again
The second video, filmed on February 23, 2017 shows an Emirates A380 doing a Go Around after battling the severe gusts and crosswind on the second attempt to land the Super Jumbo. The pilot already didn’t succeed to land the A380 on the first attempt and because it still was too dangerous on the second attempt, he had to make the hard, but wise decision to divert to Frankfurt Airport in Germany, where he landed the plane safely. The extreme conditions were so dangerous, ATC decided to close runway 18R and ordered all the other airliners to land on runway 27, also known as the Buitenveldertbaan. This is a runway that often will be used during a storm, when landing on runway 18R is no longer safe because of severe crosswinds and gusts. On runway 27 the planes will still have severe gusts, but they will have an extreme headwind instead of an extreme crosswind, making it less dangerous to land.
Video courtesy of Jerry Taha Productions