Storm Darragh caused chaos for people across the UK, but pilots landing at Heathrow Airport amid sudden blasts of wind found themselves struggling to stick to the tarmac
The pilot of a passenger plane that executed an “amazing” advanced landing technique while bringing passengers safely to Heathrow Airport has been praised by the public for his skills. In hair-raising videos of the Malaysia Airlines landing, the pilot can be seen “crabbing” to remain in control, while being buffeted by sudden gusts during Storm Darragh.
The storm brought wind speeds of up to 96mph to southern England on Saturday with forceful gusts at Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, forcing many planes into multiple landing attempts. For some passengers, it was a hair-raising day to fly, with one British Airways flight making three failed attempts before the pilot gave up and flew to Frankfurt.
But most flights were eventually able to land, even if the people on board were shaken by the landings. During the final moments of one Malaysia Airlines flight’s descent into London’s Heathrow on Saturday, the plane’s nose can be seen pulling sharply to the side as the pilot fights with the wind, with aviation enthusiasts on the ground heard exclaiming “Woah easy! Blimey O’Reilly,” as the pilot swings onto the tarmac.
See the video here:
With both rear wheels on the floor and the plane’s nose at an almost 45 degree angle, before bouncing slightly and expertly straightening up.
While it appears strange to land at this angle, this technique is known as “crabbing” and is actually how the pilot is able to remain in control while landing the huge Airbus A350-900. This tactic is used when landing in difficult crosswind conditions, like those faced on Saturday.
Counterintuitively, pilots point the nose of the aircraft into the wind while continuing to fly straight forward, landing almost sideways like a crab. This allows the plane to counteract the force of the wind and line up with the runway.
To some, this meant it “looked like row 40 in Economy was landing first,” while many praised the skill of the pilots on the Malaysia Airlines flight for achieving “quite a spectacular crab angle.”
