Crosswind landings are one of the more tricky aspects of flying. In small winds they are easily manageable, with a little bit of “crabbing” they are a piece of cake. In heavier winds, however, they have the ability to coat every single nerve of your body in ice water as you do everything in your power to make sure that your touchdown on the runway doesn’t end up hurting a lot…or worse. And it doesn’t matter what size aircraft you are flying, as we’ve shown Boeing 767s getting way out of shape before touchdown before. Here’s a couple of cockpit views that showcase the pilot’s point of view of the events and how they handle it.
First video comes from Dusseldorf, Germany from about 2000 or so, which I can only determine because you can hear the tower tell an aircraft to get off the runway quick for an incoming Concorde. This is a moderate tailwind pushing an older Boeing 737 around.
This next one was shot in 2011 as an instructor and a young pilot are trying to land a Cessna T310Q into Las Vegas Municipal. Las Vegas, like a lot of airports in the Southwest, is subject to good winds and thermals that can make the ride significantly less than comfortable. While not a completely perfect landing, this was very good.
This last one is a Citation V landing at Danbury, Conneticut. Watch the pilot’s actions, especially upon his final to landing.
