Tegucigalpa (Toncontin Airport) Approach: A test of pilot skill and aircraft capability
This
is a collection of links to YouTube videos of the demanding approach to
the airport at Tegucigalpa, Honduras. On May 30, 2008 an Airbus A320
overran the runway on landing, killing four people, while reportedly
landing in heavy rain. The runway at Tegucigalpa's Toncontin Airport is
only 6,000 feet long. Mountains and hills require around the airport
require an unusual approach, with a near-last-minute turn and a
true last moment drop at a high sink rate after overflying a hill
squarely in the path of the approach on short final.
Videos on
this page should be considered a tribute to the Airline Transport
Pilots who routinely land passenger jets here and elsewhere. This
approach makes some of the dimensions of pilot skill plainly apparent.
Less apparent is that ATP pilots bring the same skill to all
approaches, even though they may seem routine and ordinary to the
general public. Astute viewers may also be able to infer from the
cockpit videos that the front office a very busy place during approaches, with much more activity than is visible and audible in these clips.
First video, a 757 approach seen from the ground.
The tone is set when the video's audio begins by picking up a spectator
saying "don't be afraid". This video illustrates well the need to plant
the aircraft on the runway threshold as quickly as possible.
Same video, 757 at the ridge before the final drop to the runway:
From cockpit -- looks like the most routine approach of this bunch
but audio records the final crew comment when turning off the runway: "That's not fun, I don't like this one"
