![]() ![]() When planning for an approach, pilots identify the threats using "The 6 Ts" - terrain, thunderstorms, track miles, traffic, tail winds and Air Traffic Control (yeah, the last one is a bit of a fudge!). ![]() The other option now available to most aircraft is the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach. They must then pull a hard right turn in the tight space of the valley before lining up with the runway to land. ![]() The first option is to fly the same approach to the westerly runway and at the later stages, break off the approach and fly past the airport. In this scenario, there are potentially two options available to the pilots. When the wind is from the east, things get even more tricky. As the aircraft descends toward the runway, the pilots will then check their actual position and altitude against the expected values given on the approach chart. Instead, they must use an artificial descent path programmed into the Flight Management Computer (FMC) to track their vertical profile. ![]() Due to the high terrain between Rattenberg and the airport, there is no vertical guidance beam (glideslope) to guide the pilots down to the runway. When the wind is coming from the west, pilots start the approach over the town of Rattenberg at the eastern end of the valley.įrom here, they pick up the localizer beam, which leads them toward the runway. Unlike most airports where traffic can be fed in by ATC from all directions, at Innsbruck, there's only one way in and one way out.ĭepending on the wind direction, approaches start at one end of the valley. Situated in a valley surrounded by 9,000-foot mountains, Innsbruck is one of the most challenging airport approaches in Europe. While not a definitive list, here's my take on eight of the world's most challenging airports to land at. Most passengers will be blissfully unaware just how much focus, thought and effort goes into what seems like the most straightforward of landings. Some airlines, like Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, provide a live feed of the view out the front of the aircraft, but it is what's going on behind the flight deck door which is often most interesting. While looking out of the window on landing, have you ever wondered what your pilot's take on it is? While passengers get great views out the side of the aircraft, in the flight deck, there's far more going on than you could ever imagine. ![]()
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