The Eurowings plane was caught in the storm at Dusseldorf Airport while landing
Highlights
- Eurowings plane was trying to land at Germany's Dusseldorf Airport
- Plane tilted sideways several times before pilot landed safely
- Storm Friederike wreaked havoc across Germany last week
Extreme winds left a trail of destruction in Germany and surrounding regions in the wake of Storm Friederike. Gusts of up to 120 km per hour wreaked havoc, briefly shutting down air and rail traffic in northern Europe. But at Dusseldorf Airport, a brave pilot attempted a dangerous landing during the stormy conditions on Thursday. The stomach-churning landing was caught on camera by a German plane spotter.
The small Eurowings passenger aircraft, that took off from Bologna in Italy, was trying to land at Germany's Dusseldorf Airport when it was caught in the crosswinds caused by the storm. As it prepared to land, the plane tilted sideways several times with the powerful winds bending its wings. At one point, the plane was almost at a 90 degree angle with the runway. But the pilot successfully maneuvered through the bad weather and managed to land safely.
Plane-spotter
Hans van den Hovel captured the terrifying landing on camera along with several other planes trying to land at the windy airport. The 9-minute video also features several other planes that chose not to land and simply did a touch-and-go. On YouTube, the plane enthusiast wrote that about 20 planes aborted the landing that day.
"Some pilots did a great job and landed the aircraft during these extreme conditions with spectacular and skilled handling," he wrote.
Watch the frightening footage here:It's worth noting that the same Eurowings plane, when it attempted to land earlier, was forced to do a go-around, Mr Hovel told NDTV. You can watch that part at 6:22.
People on YouTube were in awe of the pilot's skills who managed to land successfully in the windy conditions. Many even expressed their concern for the passengers on the plane.
"That Dash landing must have been plain awful (for the passengers at least). Great job from the pilots!" wrote one person.
Another wrote, "That first aircraft, what a pilot, what a landing!!!! The touch down, may have been luck, but I am going to ascribe it to a masterful job by the pilot. Nice job."Click for more
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