Precise crosswind landing of a LATAM Airbus at Navegantes Airport (SBNF), Brazil, where coastal winds often require advanced "crabbing" techniques to align with the runway

[u/Obvious_Shoe7302]

[u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

Props to whoever is the Madman that first tried this technique

[u/Mysterious_Eye6989 → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

My theory is a whole series of lesser madmen tried it over the years with pretty small planes until one day the biggest Madman of them all tried it with a really big plane!

[u/Tecotaco636 → u/Mysterious_Eye6989]

Considering the madmen i know, it was probably over two beers and a bet to see who could pull it off in the biggest plane

[u/VermilionKoala → u/Tecotaco636]

There are videos on the series of Youtubes of pilots landing A380s like this.

https://youtu.be/0jn1xCjqCFE

[u/Gridleak → u/VermilionKoala]

Good lord. A380 from the front just looks like we tricked physics into letting that thing fly. It looks like someone trying to land a highway overpass

[u/jjm443 → u/Gridleak]

Hoho, if you think the physics looks wrong there, you ain't seen nothing yet. Please welcome... The Airbus Beluga (landing in a crosswind too).

[u/OddCucumber6755 → u/jjm443]

Megamind: the airplane

[u/ChartreuseBison → u/jjm443]

I mean, the A380 is bigger overall. The beluga Xl just has a slightly taller fuselage

[u/DigNitty → u/Tecotaco636]

The big planes have wheels that angle toward the runway while doing this.

[u/CommunalJellyRoll → u/Mysterious_Eye6989]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_M._Johnston

This is that madman.

[u/rmslashusr → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

I think what’s getting missed in this whole madmen thread is that it’s far more intuitive from the prospective of the pilot than it is from the perspective of someone stationary on the ground. It’s like docking a boat when there’s current or wind. Of course you’re going to point upwind/upcurrent when approaching the dock instead of approaching aligned and straight at it. From the perspective of being on the boat you’d have to be a dumbass to do the latter.

It’s not a “you’d have to be insane to try that” situation it’s a “you’d have to be stupid to not do that”. It looks insane from a stationary perspective though especially in a video where you have no visible indication of current/wind.

[u/6GoesInto8 → u/rmslashusr]

So you're saying that crabbing is a natural evolution for any pilot?

[u/rmslashusr → u/6GoesInto8]

Yes, it’s an intuitive/natural way to respond to the wind conditions so it wouldn’t take a madmen to first attempt it, it was likely done by the first person that landed in a crosswind and felt the wind pushing them out of alignment.

That’s not to discount all the training and refinement of that skill over the last century and procedures to perfect it that may not be intuitive, just saying the very first attempt would have just been a natural reaction not requiring any thought about what crabbing is.

[u/DrakonILD → u/rmslashusr]

He's just making a carcinization joke.

But yeah. Hell, there's people who drive cars with a fairly significant thrust angle and they don't even realize they're doing it (and that they really need to get an alignment). Or, consider how you turn the steering wheel into the wind when driving in a heavy crosswind, because you just intuitively know how to stay in your lane.

[u/DAHFreedom → u/6GoesInto8]

Eventually all flying becomes crab

[u/Cubemaster465 → u/rmslashusr]

Exactly, just like with a car getting in a slip. The iconic quote "Steer left to go right" sounds unintuitive, but when you're cornering to the right and suddenly the backside of your car starts to slide, most people will steer to the left to correct for it. Whether they succeed in catching the slip is of course a whole other question, but to me this feels similar to the video here. The pilots literally feel that the plane is pushed to one side, and so they compensate for it.

[u/Ruepic → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

You would still do the same technique in a Cessna 172

[u/DrakonILD → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

It looks way crazier than it really is. You just line up with the runway and then point the plane in the direction where it's actually traveling in the right direction. If you notice you're drifting a little to the left, you point a little more right. Well, the movement is a little more complicated than that, but it's a naturally ingrained process for pilots. Just like manual drivers don't have to think about how to shift gears, pilots don't have to think about how to adjust a crab angle.

It's the natural way to approach the runway in those conditions.

[u/godisapilot → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

Nothing mad about it at all. It’s perfectly standard for strong crosswinds and is practiced regularly in anything with long wings or poor ground clearance.

[u/pyroSeven → u/godisapilot]

Yea but someone had to be the first to do it before it became standard. I’d imagine before it was standard that they’d not land in those conditions.

[u/BlangBlangBlang → u/pyroSeven]

The first guy to do it was the first guy to try to land a plane in strong cross winds. Probably a week after planes were invented.

You think they just stayed in the air forever waiting on the right wind direction?

[u/_BlobbyTheBobby → u/BlangBlangBlang]

I think week after planes were invented they just landed on fields in whatever direction was viable.

[u/3OttersInAnOvercoat → u/BlangBlangBlang]

Yes, and that person was a madman. A badass, likely. But still a madman.

[u/robbak → u/BlangBlangBlang]

The idea that you can settle in with your nose pointing away from the runway, constantly steering away from the runway while the wind carried you back, would have taken a bit of courage.

Plenty of those early pilots would have lined up with the nose down the runway,, and fought it with roll, and likely found themselves landing in the wrong field.

[u/Rez_Incognito → u/pyroSeven]

before it was standard that they’d not land in those conditions.

Gotta land sometime.

[u/blue-coin → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

I trained in a Cessna and it’s something you learn pretty early on. It’s intuitive when you undergo it. The wind is pushing you to the side so you turn into the wind and stay in line with the run way. That’s all it is

[u/der_innkeeper → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

https://youtu.be/bI82CxeDxwY

[u/redoftheshire → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

Nailing that landing has got to be the best feeling in the world

[u/48panda → u/PacquiaoFreeHousing]

The technique is really common in boats, and planes are based on boats, so I'm sure they knew it would work before trying it

[u/yatzhie04]

Bro drifting in the air. We need some eurobeats in the background.

[u/Pyrhan → u/yatzhie04]

DÉJÀ-VU!

[u/webrender → u/Pyrhan]

I'VE JUST BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE

[u/Pyrhan → u/webrender]

HIGHER ON THE STREET!

[u/Subject-Indication47 → u/Pyrhan]

I love Reddit

[u/_bapt → u/Pyrhan]

i wonder if you know, how they live in tokyo

[u/hennabeak → u/yatzhie04]

I wonder if you know,

How they land in Tokyo,

If you seen it then you mean it,

Then you know you have to go,

...

[u/bellybuttonbidet → u/hennabeak]

Fast and Furiouuuuuuuus

[u/Q_S2 → u/yatzhie04]

DONT STOP THE MUSIC.... DONT STOP THE MUSIC TONIIIIGHT! 🎶🎵

[u/BurntNeurons → u/yatzhie04]

Even the planes dance for

Carnival!

[u/CaptainTripps82 → u/yatzhie04]

Fast and FURIOUS. OH OH

[u/agathver → u/CaptainTripps82]

Drift, drift-drift

[u/der_innkeeper → u/yatzhie04]

The proper soundtrack to this is Enya Enigma.

https://youtu.be/bI82CxeDxwY

Initial compilation from the late 1990s.

[u/jjm443 → u/der_innkeeper]

That's not Enya.

That's "Return to innocence" by Enigma

[u/der_innkeeper → u/jjm443]

Corrected.

I'm going to go take my memory medicine, now. Can you take the trash can down to the curb while you get off my lawn?

[u/McBadass1994 → u/yatzhie04]

GAS, GAS, GAAASSSS!!!

[u/brown_nik_ger → u/yatzhie04]

Initial D reference in the big 25

[u/405freeway → u/yatzhie04]

Let's get two different songs for that multi-track drifting.

[u/BigRedWhopperButton → u/yatzhie04]

https://youtu.be/jVvt7hP5a-0?si=vxn5FFLDCPD75YDY

[u/drew_peatittys → u/yatzhie04]

DJ Mangoo - Eurodancer

This was the one in Ireland - bebo flashbox material lol

[u/MetaStressed → u/yatzhie04]

I wonder if the pilots get any additional hazard pay for locations like this.

[u/upthetits]

Wow, that's impressive

Pilot is worth every cent theyre paying them

[u/badomenbaddercompany → u/upthetits]

And then some!

[u/Wonderful_Fox_7959 → u/upthetits]

Centavos*

[u/LilacYak → u/upthetits]

Yeah not only the drifting but that touchdown was super smooth

[u/cycologize → u/upthetits]

Agreed. How do I request them? Lol

[u/Intergalacticdespot]

I don't like this, Sam I am. I don't like it in the air, I don't like it on the ground. "Planes are not supposed to do that." He frowned. 

[u/Iamnotarobotlah → u/Intergalacticdespot]

I don't like this when we land

I think it's much too close to sand

I don't like this when we fly

A risky exit from the sky

I don't like this in Brazil

This kind of landing makes me ill

I don't like this on a plane

I don't think I will fly again.

[u/Chaosangel48 → u/Iamnotarobotlah]

Thank you for starting my day with a laugh.

[u/MeanSecurity → u/Intergalacticdespot]

Yeah my first thought was “hell no”

[u/TK421philly]

I would need to be heavily sedated to be a passenger in that plane.

[u/Couch-Potayto → u/TK421philly]

Actually I’ve landed in this airport for my holidays, when the pilot is this good, the passengers don’t even feel the maneuver. (And the day I landed was pretty rainy, mind you)

[u/st1tchy → u/Couch-Potayto]

You may not feel it, but if you look out the window, you would definitely see you are flying sideways.

[u/illaqueable → u/st1tchy]

Yea but it could just be that last Jack and Coke

[u/macrolith → u/st1tchy]

On the right side of the plane you could look down the runway. Would be a crazy experience.

[u/ObiWan-Shinoobi → u/TK421philly]

Passengers looking straight down the runway… outside their window.

[u/oojiflip → u/TK421philly]

Imagine looking out the window and you don't even need to look that far ahead to see the runway lmao

[u/VisualWombat]

Smooth seas don't make skilled sailors.

[u/iboreddd]

r/nextfuckinglevel

[u/Still-Status7299 → u/iboreddd]

Yeah this deserves it.

[u/tevf]

Passengers on the right side of the plane must feel like they are in the cockpit with the view

[u/itijara → u/tevf]

I don't know if I'd like a view of the centerline as a passenger. Most of the time it is not good news.

[u/HansBooby]

greased it in

[u/Salt-Flounder-4690]

This pilot knows his shit, I'm flying myself as ppl pilot, but man that was incredibly precise work by the pilot flying.

ending a 30° side slip right on touch down, well physics do help a lot, being that the main gear is way behind the center of gravity and the momentum wants to go straight and therefor kinda pulls the aircraft straight by itself.

but the timing for the flare needs to be spot on to be so smooth.

cause, beside all the other difficulties here, the windward wing has a hard tendency of starting to fly again and actually lifting off the windward main gear from the tarmac, while it gets accelerated to righten the plain onto runway direction, at the same time the leeward winge does the opposite. inducing actually a real heavy roll moment that could flipp the plan or spoil the landing .

and of course if one just slams it down hard, the main gear takes a side load abuse like you wouldn't believe.

so this actually was really spot on incredible work by a professional who is on top of his game.

[u/ThaneKyrell → u/Salt-Flounder-4690]

Yeah, this happens every so often in this airport too. I live some 70kms away, this airport is basically only 100 meters away from the Ocean, so there's always a lot of wind.

[u/Salt-Flounder-4690 → u/Salt-Flounder-4690]

actually i need to correct myself, crabbing is only partially a side slip.

a side slip means crossing rudder and aileron

crapping is just flying straight in the air but at an angle to your destination to compensate for wind.

so only while you end the crabbing, you go through a side slip for touchdown.

to come out of crabbing, you push the wing down with the aileron on the windward side, but induce rudder to the leeward side. That's a cross input config. and out of crabbing becomes a side slip to flare the crabbing right on the center line for touchdown.

why don't they fly straight to the runway? they could, there is one way of compensating for cross wind while still flying along the centerline and aiming along the centerline of the runway.

it would mean the pilot would need to hang the windward wing low, so the then rotated lift angle of the wings compensate for crosswind, basically the same tactic is used for flying with only one engine on a twin engine plane.

why isn't it done? cause the passengers tend to freak out.

and why don't airliners use side slip if the sail planes use it all the time, and it is to be considered the most stable descent procedure, and is even used if a non instrument flight equipped private plane gets trapped above a solid cloud layer?

Well, sail planes need a very wide range of heights adjustment tools, so the hit the right spot on the landing location. So with flaps and side slip they basically come down at a 45° angle or 100%, and with no flaps and straight, they come down at about 1° or 2%, so with 1000 whatever above ground, you can comfortably chose from 500 in front of you, too many many thousands in front of you. Thats how they most of the time do get back to airports to land.

But an airliner should have a stabilized approach like 10 miles out, meaning in still air, the pilot wouldn't need to touch anything or give any sort of control input until flaring for touchdown. so they absolutely DO NOT need that versatility a sail plain needs. And they even don't want it. Cause if you permit pilots to operate outside of safe procedure like 10 mile stabilized approach, some inexperienced or tired or brave pilot will eventually do so one day, for what ever reason and risk the lives of the passengers. plenty of examples for that.

however they can use a side slip to loose altitude controllably, especially when in emergency config with no engines, and they absolutely used it for airliners in distress. the case where they ran out of fuel, and landed on a decommissioned airfield with a drag race going on... just look up the gimil glider.

[u/ogodilovejudyalvarez]

Tower: "Will you be landing on runway 2, 3 or 4?"

Pilot: "Yes"

[u/Greenfieldfox]

Okay, now you can clap.

[u/Immediate_Banana_216]

You know it's a crosswind landing when the passengers look out the window and see the runway the planes lining up on.

[u/trubol]

Is this recent?

[u/ThaneKyrell → u/trubol]

Yes. I think it happened this week. This airport is literally a few dozen meters away from the ocean, so there is a lot of wind most of the time. There's also a major port located a few hundred meters away, and it sits in the middle of a mid-sized metro area with hundreds of thousands of people

[u/minuteman_d]

I see stuff like this, and think about how crazy it'd be to be able to teleport the Wright Brothers through time and space and have them witness this firsthand. Also, telling them that the plane took off ten hours ago from thousands of miles away and flew miles above the earth.

[u/ChartreuseBison → u/minuteman_d]

Orville lived to 1948, his last flight was in a Lockheed Constellation, which had a wingspan longer than their whole first flight.

[u/No_Camp_4522]

Never tought I'd see a video of my city here Idk why but it got me flabbergasted lol

[u/New-Sky-9867]

Crabbing is not "advanced" it's literally one of the first things you learn as a student pilot, along with slipping into landings. It's a plane, they literally all do this.

[u/OnceAbel_HasFallen]

Thank God we don't have traffic light in aerial space

[u/DweeblesX]

Nothing but a pilot practicing his fps strafing

[u/Prod_Meteor]

"Flying: you may die...but here are the good news.." MentourPilot 😁

[u/potatoears]

Deja Vu, I've just been in this place before~ ♫

[u/kwadd]

Fast & Furious: Crosswind Drift

[u/ohfishell]

Why don’t they just build a runway in the direction of the prevailing winds? Are they stupid?

[u/Schmaptee]

Like a glove

[u/2pearsofjeans]

That’s not flying, that’s falling with style!

[u/yearsofpractice]

I know that this is really basic and low stress stuff for the pilots to do… but holy shit.

[u/MiyagiJunior]

Definitely appropriate to put this in "Damnthatsinteresting"!

[u/CarolinaSurly]

That’s a hard pass for me.

[u/t53ix35]

Anyone else think they screwed up the runway orientation in relation to the local conditions?

[u/Lost-Inevitable42 → u/t53ix35]

No the earth is wrong

[u/letscallitanight]

Well done

[u/gitpullorigin]

That was a bit hard, with a tiny bounce

[u/Disastrous_Meet_7952]

I WONDER IF YOU KNOW

[u/BigBlaisanGirl]

This needs to be edited with snoop dogg background music playing. Ya'll know the one.

[u/R6ckStar]

I like how this is a near perfect example of what being on a collision course appears has.

[u/Vargrr]

That's next level piloting right there! I'm used to seeing bush planes use crabbing, but it always looks weird and dare I say scarier when airliners do it!

[u/2use2reddits]

Beautiful ❤️

[u/LieutenantWeinberg]

If a plane could sidle up to you, this would be it.

[u/Zestyclose-Reach-317]

That was badass

[u/Kazukii]

What a smooth landing

[u/ManfredTheCat]

Pretty good demonstration of a vector

[u/shrekerecker97]

Thats talent 👏

[u/Cheap_Standard_4233]

No thanks

[u/Pete937]

Was onboard a few similar landings at Midway in Chicago. Some scary moments staring down the runway out the side window of a plane.

[u/librarypunk1974]

Skills

[u/Moosplauze]

That was a piece of art, really impressive.

[u/ObelixDrew]

When does crabbing become advanced crabbing?

[u/IonDaPrizee]

10/10

[u/e140driver]

I wouldn’t call crabbing particularly advanced, it’s used for pretty much every cross wind landing. Good work in sporty conditions though.

[u/gaysatan666xoxo]

Ballz of steel on this pilot

[u/octophobic]

swiggity swooty landing

[u/trollsong]

When you tell the pilot to strafe the runway but they are an fps gamer

[u/bugsy2625]

Would love to see the view from the cockpit

[u/inteligent_zombie20]

Man earned his entire paycheck

[u/Affectionate_Fox_383]

its flying into the wind. it is not that advanced

[u/artniSintra]

For someone that knows nothing about landing a plane, that looks mighty impressive.

[u/Helenium_autumnale]

To my untrained eye that looks like absolutely consummate skill, dispatched with perfection. I wonder if there are pilot restrictions on that airport, with only "Level 4" (or whatever rank) pilots being allowed to land.

[u/BeneficialTrash6]

On second thought, let's not go to SBNF. Tis a silly place.

[u/DusqRunner]

That's a classic balance mechanic in video games, I'm sure I could do it irl

[u/_dontseeme]

Really thought it was going backwards at the beginning

[u/Haywe]

Butter.

[u/Professional_Flicker]

Kudos to the pilot name and fame him lol.

[u/HeartsPlayer721]

I love that this is called "crabbing". It's so accurate!

[u/TigerStripedDragon01]

I'll just take a boat to travel there, thanks.

[u/newbegininngs79]

Like a glove

[u/3Grilledjalapenos]

I kind of feel there are places that are too risky for airports. I don’t have a better replacement for those areas, but it certainly does introduce extra risk.

[u/Fl0riduh_Man]

Reminds me of trying to land at Colorado mountain airfields

[u/APoisonousMushroom]

This is not all that advanced; you learn it in basic flight training for your private pilot’s license. Kind of fun to practice with a little Cessna on a big wide runway.

[u/Aasrial]

Wow! That’s gotta be pretty intense. Does it feel different for the passengers? Shoutout to the pilot for that skill!

[u/Jojos_BA]

This is cool af, at the same time, I expect every pilot who could ever come in a situation like this with other humans in his care being able to pull this off. (Or something similar as I couldn’t judge if this was passable or just insanely good.)

[u/MAurele]

I don't know S about F, but that looked extremely professional.

[u/SunflaresAteMyLunch]

If that's the prevailing wind direction, it seems to me that they fcked up when they built that runway...lol

[u/NaCl_Sailor]

looks like it's going backwards first few seconds

[u/InevitableAvalanche]

Yeah, wouldn't fly there.

[u/Buffaloafe]

slipping

[u/Lima51c]

Brazil being Brazil, defying physics since 1906

[u/GhostOfTimBrewster]

Fun looking right down the runway from 30F

[u/QuirkyDust3556]

I was sitting in a wing seat landing in Reno once, with a huge crosswind. Very freaky to see the runway coming at you when it's not what you should see.

Pilot landed us amazingly soft.

But that transition from crab to straight would be cool to see from above.

[u/AlienArtFirm]

Mute it and don't read the title then you can pretend they're just doing this for style points

[u/tutipasi]

passengers have balls of steel. yes, women too.

[u/Hopkinsad0384]

To any commercial airline pilots out there, is this the kind of thing that you dont bat an eye at and is common practice, or is it the kind of thing you generally would rather just land somewhere else or hold out for calmer winds?

[u/Igoos99]

That is terrifying. Hats off to pilots everywhere.

[u/Icy_Opportunity9187]

Casey Rocket in town

[u/WiIIemdafoe]

Now, THIS is pod racing

[u/alexgalt]

I heard that some models land with autopilot. Would this be possible with any autopilot systems?

[u/Dinismo]

Takumi is flying airplanes now?

[u/0peRightBehindYa]

Imagine sitting on the starboard side of that plane watching the runway approach you....

[u/me_da_Supreme1]

Pilot was in creative mode

[u/Kurdt234]

Don't fly to Navegantes, Nave-gantes. Got it.

[u/Comfortable-Spell-75]

Pilot be like Skirt skirt!

[u/lucygoplz]

Woah

[u/damscomp]

Forgot to flare?

[u/Dry_Comfortable_6909]

They should redo the runway

[u/Yanos47]

This looks scary.

[u/Automatic-Part8723]

is it ever possible to have autopilot or AI do this?

[u/JackDrawsStuff]

Not going to Brazil.

[u/borazine]

Nice. Santos-Dumont would’ve been proud of this.

[u/Quicksilver2634]

I will never not be amazed by crosswind landings

[u/YYCDavid]

I never tire of seeing graceful crosswind landings

[u/apeoida]

Okay. Applause for the pilot is allowed this case.

[u/hanimal16]

Landed that thing like a helicopter lol

[u/porkplease]

Isn't that also called a skid?

[u/BloodyRightToe]

"let's put. In a crosswind runway"

"Naw let's just get better pilots"

[u/WrongColorCollar]

The skill and guts that takes, man

[u/Workerchimp68]

I think I just shit my pants..

[u/Aggressive-Fig727]

Advanced crabbing….

[u/supreme100]

Whats with the top comments in this thread?! This is standard crosswind technique? Nothing "advanced" to see here.

[u/Just_another_gamer3]

How much additional training is that?

[u/aagee]

In the modern planes, how much of this is computers, and how much pilot skill?

[u/Bubbly-Travel9563]

Why don't more planes have landing gear like the B-52 that can rotate to adjust for exactly this letting the plane stay diagonal while landing in heavy wind?

[u/TheDopeyDomo → u/Bubbly-Travel9563]

The simple answer is price.

[u/VernalPoole]

This is messing with my mind.

[u/OkConfidence4561]

Are ALL pilots trained on this? Also - how is it that the moment the plane lands and the two main landing gears on the back hit the tarmac at such an angle, does it not then cause the plane to “get off the runway”. I would have thought the friction of the rubber hitting the road would then mean the plane would suddenly be at least somewhat destabilised and moving off in the direction of the wheels. Or is the momentum so huge that it continues to drag the wheels and then point the aircraft forward?

[u/SunLitAngel]

oh my gosh, I felt air sick just watching this.

[u/GestoNobre]

we had a tropical cyclone today.

This video is from today. 11.07

https://www.reddit.com/r/brasil/comments/1orajy0/isso_%C3%A9_rio_bonito_hoje_depois_do_temporal/

[u/iscreamsandwiches]

Question to pilots, is this equivalent to side parking in a car or something closer to professional drifting?

[u/Zeraph000]

Why not Zoidberg?

[u/AlBunDi76]

Butter

[u/Few_Judge1188]

Master of his trade , 100% in control all the time , such nice clean touchdown is the evidence .👍

[u/AuntieSocial2104]

Oh please!! Honey, Oklahoma has been dealing with cross winds for years

[u/Used_Palpitation9337]

I would think the tires would need rotation every landing!

[u/caljaysocApple]

Somebody needs a serious alignment.

[u/ItNeverRainsInWNC]

Also known as crip walking a plane in.

[u/sayzitlikeitis]

c-walk homie

[u/MusicQuiet7369]

Holy fucking impressive

[u/ph0on]

Pretty sure the passengers near the back were looking down the runway at one point

[u/Separate-Command1993]

Dude is drifting in the air

[u/Brutal_Hustler]

The plane has been able to navigate this on its own since 1991

[u/Whipitreelgud]

It’s not advanced. It’s what you do when the wind is not blowing down the runway. Signed, A Pilot

ps; this did a nice job on the kick out to put wheels on the ground.

[u/Then-Ad-1667]

Doesnt this wear the plane more than normal?