Shock Video: Lufthansa Jet Nearly Crashes in Botched Landing

They say any landing you can walk away from is a good one, but passengers on this Lufthansa jet may beg to differ.

All 137 people on board a German domestic flight eventually arrived unharmed — though badly shaken –  after a wind gust tipped the Airbus A320’s left wing into the runway, nearly cartwheeling the craft. The quick-witted pilot managed to regain enough control to punch the throttle for an emergency “go around,” circling the airport for a second landing attempt.

In the video, you can see the plane struggling against a stiff 56 mile per hour crosswind, its nose pointed upwind. As it makes contact with the runway, the pilot uses his rudder controls to straighten out. But a gust lifts the right side of the Airbus, forcing the left wing into contact with the tarmac. There’s a huge blast of dust and rain lifted by the jetwash as the plane blasts back to full throttle, miraculously pulling away without serious damage.

The incident occurred March 1st at Hamburg’s airport. Investigators are trying to determine if the Airbus should have been allowed to attempt a landing under such high wind conditions.

Link: Spiegel Online (via Weather Underground)

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