Expert British Airways Pilot Saves the Day After Plane Bounces Off Runway in Heart-pounding Video

Travel + Leisure 4 days ago Stacey Leasca

a large passenger jet sitting on top of a runway: British Airways

If you’re truly afraid of flying you might want to click away from this story now (here’s something more pleasant to read instead). But, if you’re here for the drama then keep scrolling because this video of a British Airways flight bouncing off the runway is something you need to see.

Late last week, a British Airways flight from Hyderabad to London's Heathrow Airport was closing in on its landing when strong crosswinds picked up. As a video of the attempted landing shows, the massive aircraft is pushed back and forth and side to side several times as it attempts to land. The aircraft comes close to touching down, but instead, in a heart-pounding moment bounces off the runway on its back tires instead.

We are live now on our Elite Channel from #Heathrow and witnessed this insane #TOGA ! Well done pilot! @British_Airways #BA276 #StormErik pic.twitter.com/WMEvJ4P387
— BIG JET TV (@BigJetTVLIVE) February 8, 2019

But, this is British Airways we’re talking about, which means that the plane also came with one of the best pilots in the world. So, instead of letting things go haywire the pilot quickly pulls the plane up into the sky to circle the airport to land safely.

"Well done pilot!" Big Jet TV said in its tweet of the video, which now has more than 3 million views.

"Our highly skilled pilots regularly train to conduct the standard maneuver known as a 'go around'," British Airways told NDTV in a statement. "The aircraft circled the airport and landed safely.”

While the idea of an aborted landing like this, otherwise known as a “take off/go around,” sounds scary, it’s really a fairly common and well-known maneuver by pilots. In fact, according to Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, there are about 800 standard go-arounds performed in Australia alone in typical year. So, if this happens to you just sit back, relax, and enjoy an extra five minutes in the air.

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