Crosswind Landing

AirlineRatings.com has a spectacular video from Cargospotter of crosswinds landings at DusseldorfAirport in Germany. Crosswind landings can be a major challenge for pilots and occur when the wind is across the runway not head on. Typically aircraft land and take-off into the wind to decrease the landing or take-off distance. In some cases aircraft land with a slight down wind component – typically associated with noise sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another. Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course toward the runway. This is called crabbing or yawing. In strong crosswinds the pilot may also dip the wing – sideslip – into the direction of the wind. Just before touch down pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage - back so it is aligned straight down the centre line of the runway. This takes great skill and the results –if not done properly - are often quite spectacular as shown in video below. To see a spectacular muddy take-off see here.