Pilot of Airbus A340 performs a perfect cross-wind landing

Geoffrey Thomas

By Geoffrey Thomas

Published Tue Dec 7, 2021

The pilot of an Airbus A340 has performed a perfect cross-wind landing captured on the video below. READ: Qatar Airways award-winning Qsuite https://twitter.com/i/status/1468159599811334144 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 downwind component – typically associated with noise-sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another. READ: Godfrey’s tracking of MH370 gains expert support READ: Flying like a billionaire on VistaJet 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 touchdown pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage – back so it is aligned straight down the centerline of the runway.    

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