World's Scariest Runways

Scandinavian13

New Member
Travel and Leisure's list of the World's scariest runways.

Some are a bit obscure for my taste and two of them I wouldn't have put on the list over some others (DCA & JFK), but it's an interesting, quick read with pictures:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/the-worlds-scariest-runways


It would've been nice to see them expanded and categorized.
-Air carrier airports
-Bush airports
-etc

I have a feeling there would be more from Norway (ENHV, etc) for air carrier and AK for bush/carrier/cargo.
 
Travel and Leisure's list of the World's scariest runways.

Some are a bit obscure for my taste and two of them I wouldn't have put on the list over some others (DCA & JFK), but it's an interesting, quick read with pictures:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/the-worlds-scariest-runways


It would've been nice to see them expanded and categorized.
-Air carrier airports
-Bush airports
-etc

I have a feeling there would be more from Norway (ENHV, etc) for air carrier and AK for bush/carrier/cargo.

Scariest non-lodge strip and on airport landing sight i've seen PAKY. The windsocks typically point at eachother, and the cx are typically low.
 
Oh, come on... JFK? Reagan? Give me a break. Where is Telluride? Doing the circle to land there is fairly intense!
 
Scariest non-lodge strip and on airport landing sight i've seen PAKY. The windsocks typically point at eachother, and the cx are typically low.
I tried to look it up on GE, only to find crap resolution. I generally go with Alaska = difficult, though, so I'll believe you.

Oh, come on... JFK? Reagan? Give me a break. Where is Telluride? Doing the circle to land there is fairly intense!
That's what I'm saying. JFK and Reagan are nothing compared to many others in the States.
TNCS, LPMA, etc abroad.
 
Sounds like the article was written/edited by a student or a private pilot who would be scared flying into a busy class B airport like JFK. Thats just my guess though.

I'd prefer a list with 'pee your pants' fear rather than 'oh crap ground is going to yell at me if I dont read back the entire taxi clearance' fear.
 
Yeah, here are some that would make my list (as far as air carrier airports:
Random ridiculous North Norway airports, buried in the fjords (ENHVs IAP is a doozy)
Courchevel
TFFJ
LXGB
LOWI
TNCM (Not so much hard/dangerous as moderately ridiculous when it comes to the departure over the mountain)

No particular order, and that's not all of them. That's just what I could think of right now without looking any up.
 
Apples and oranges, guys! Keep in mind that this article was written from a pax standpoint. DCA is not that bad when you're sitting up front - heck, I would even call it fun - but have you ever sat in the back during the River Visual or the visual/ILS 1 land on 33?? You're looking at the runway the whole time you're 'yanking and banking' coming thru 500agl and often times, the only thing that the folks in back can see is water. Don't forget they can't see forward and there are many airports that the first part of the airport they see is when you cross the threshold. Same principle with the approach into JFK. Pax have become accustomed to long, stabilized final approaches and become a little skittish when you start manuevering close (or what they consider close) to the ground or when all they can see is water or cityscape with no glimpse of the airport.
 
How about Fallbrook (L18) for all my socal pilots out there, you know what I'm talking about!!!
For those who dont know, the airport is set up on a "plateau" like hill, the runway is 2,100 feet, always a strong xwind, like 12g19, if your short on the landing, u hit the hill, long on the landing roll, you roll off the hill. In other words sucks! Anyone that would wanna try to land there at night is crazy! I had to do my short field to/landgs there for my private checkride, good thing I was there for 3 days stright practicing my to/landgs.
Anyway here ya go: f12.jpg

Catalina AVX IS ANOTHER ONE - Catalina AVX.jpg
 
At night they sometimes play "covert operations". I am wondering if I need to fill out a NASA on it.

I had one of their CFI's tell me that runway 25 was to be used till there was more than a 7 knot X-wind for noise. I told him there were no noise abatement items published in the AFD. Apparently he had an AFD on board and ended up taxiing from runway 25 to 7. Winds at the time were 070 at 7, ended up going up to about 9 knots before departure.
 
From the article:
...runway 13L, with the threatening waters of Jamaica Bay beckoning at the runway’s end.

That's why JFK is on the list.



Gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking of those...

threatening...

beckoning... waters.





:sarcasm:
 
From the article:

That's why JFK is on the list.



Gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking of those...

threatening...

beckoning... waters.





:sarcasm:


Is it even possible to be 'threatening' and 'beckoning' at the same time??

Maybe 'looming'.... in any event, it sounds like it was written for a middle school creative writing class.
 
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Lukla yet, VNLK.

It is a sloping 1600' runway that has a 2000' drop off the lower end of the runway. So you take off going down the hill and land going up it, regardless of what the wind is like. If you want to climb Everest, its pretty much your only option unless you want to take another 7-10 days walking in.
 
There are no such things as scary runways, there are only trained, skilled and prepared; and untrained, unskilled, unprepared pilots :D
 
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