Flying an aircraft is a forced-immersion experience: if you aren’t fully aware, focused, and functioning, you and the machine will become one in a crumpled ball somewhere, with or without fire involved. Landing an aircraft is the most nerve-wracking part of flying, without question: Taking off into the relative safety of the air is easy, but gently putting that same heavy frame back onto a road at speed takes finesse in the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, the best of circumstances isn’t always available, so pilots train on how to fly in absolute crap weather. Wind, rain, whatever the case, you can be assured that the guys in the cockpit know what they are doing.

The airport in this video is BHX, better known as Birmingham Airport, located in the West Midlands area of the U.K. The weather, and more specifically the winds, aren’t friendly. Strong gusty winds are a regular occurrence and the result is footage like this, where planes crab-fly in, gain and lose altitude like a roller coaster, and generally make for great business for the bars once the passengers unload from the aircraft. The last thing anyone wants to see is a sideways aircraft, yet in Birmingham it’s a regular sight. Please be sure to fasten your seat belts, this ride will make turbulence seem like child’s play.