I've experienced two of the most hair-raising, white knuckle go-arounds on the same Jetstar flight from Auckland to Wellintgon last year in March that on the 3rd attempt we had to return to Auckland. The first go-around was something i've never experienced before, the plane went vertical in the space of a few seconds - I actually thought this was it! Then i flew Airnz back to Wellington that same morning and we landed first attempt.
I landed in Wellington on may 18th this year, on Jetstar A320.,was rather bumpy and windy but first attempt was all good though!. Enjoyed your awesome video there AvBer🛫👍
fifty years ago the NAC Friendship often did spectacular pitch yaw roll on approach to Wellington, especially during a violent northerly, yet somehow the incredible pilots always straightened her out at the last moment
Great video! Would you be okay with me featuring the go-around and landing in my series Weekly Dose of Aviation? Of course you will be credited both in the video and in the description. Thanks!
I once tried to squeeze juice out of the armrests, during a Boeing 767 landing into WLG amid a nor'westerly at Christmas 1985. Short final approach was rough, one wing shuddering up then the other. The packed cabin had suddenly gone very quiet. Captain picked his moment and planted main gear firmly down. Moments later his cheerful voice came over the PA, "Well ladies and gentlemen, another successful landing!" and everybody burst into spontaneous applause. The B767's could handle that tricky landing better than the Embraer, but airliner replacement is a fact of the business.
I remember my first time flying into Queestown on a Qantas flight from Christchurch 2004 was a circuit approach. It had me thinking, how the hell are we going to get this thing on the ground from such a great height, then the circling began absolutely spectacular.
Great vid, especially because you let us experience the trip without voiceover. My personal story on Welly landings was in May of 1983. My wife and I were over in Brisbane for our marriage as that’s her home town. We planned our reception for Welly the following Saturday for my family and we were due to fly out on the Friday, the day before the reception. However, there had been a big storm front over the whole of NZ and we weren’t able to fly back until late Sat morning. From memory, it was an Air NZ 767 and it was so rough that we made 3 attempts to land. One of the flight attendants vomited (after the 2nd attempt ) and on the 3rd attempt there were 3 Aussie guys saying the Lord’s Prayer, I kid you not. In the end we diverted to Auckland, grabbed a rental and by the time we got to Welly it was about 11pm and we missed our own reception.😂
@@nigelc22 Yes but the Aussie’s praying ironically gave the rest of us on the plane a bit of a giggle at the time LOL. I remember telling the story quite a few years later to some people I’d met and they said they remembered reading about that in the newspaper ( I never got to see that myself). Another funny thing is it’s a pity we weren’t smugglers because when we were about to go through customs at Auckland airport, the officers there must’ve known about our situation and just said.. “Go, Go, Go!!!” 😂
Smooth landing Sometimes when it's very turbulent on approach the landing is a smooth "grease job". The pilot can feel the way the aircraft is handling better. It takes 60 mph to lift water into spume.
The reassuring thing about landing in wellington is the cross winds over the Cook Strait usually die out once you're over land. Ive been on flights where once we're over the runway the pilot smacks the plane down.
Flew into wellington on an N A C Fokker friendship 1979how the pilot put that thing down I'll never know horrendous put me of flying for life never been up in a modern aircraft Terra firma for me😮
Your video randomly came up on my RU-vid feed (I follow quite a bit of aviation channels). Nice video and scenery! I've only experienced one go-around as a passenger, during a storm at night (driving rain, heavy turbulence and very low cloud). It was pretty scary in those weather conditions.
flying to Wellington on 23rd September in just a little Dash-8 or ATR...I'm nervous but because I'm learning to fly and I know how turbulence/the planes works and that no plane in yearsss has crashed from landing that I will be more chill. My previous landing in Welly on the dash-8 wasn't even bad, not even too bumpy so fingers crossed cause I don't wanna be divrted! I'm more nervous of people being physically sick as I have severe panic attacks when it happens and being in a small confined space in the sky is a nightmare for me. fingers crossed and praying it all is sunny, smooth and happy lol
Nice work (videographer and pilots!). Had a few lumpy ones at Welly, that was up with the best. I'd prefer to divert to AKL - I've never managed to relax entirely on a Wellington landing.
My brother inlaw flew out of Wellington for Qantas and said this was just a normal day for them. Landed there a few years ago with him piloting the plane on a day like this. He got in first go with a bumpy landing. Love the vid and glad you got down on the 2nd attempt.
E190 36.24m vs 737-800 39.50m only shorter than the 73 by about 3 metres so not really a baby.... ;) I fly these so Im a tad sensitive about calling the ejet a baby. Just kidding... sort of... Cool video though!
Having lived in Wellington all my life, I have flown in and out of Wellington Airport many, many times. The scariest moment I ever experienced was taking off to the South, flying to Auckland. We lined up and rolled down the runway into a black wall and torrential rain. We were about 500 metres in the air when there was a tremendous noise, and a purplish/ bluish flash filled the cabin. There was dead silence apart from the rain hitting the fuselage. Then the engines started to spool down and recovered. I was convinced we were going to end up in Cook Strait. Fortunately, we didn't, and we climbed away, and no one spoke a word. About 5 or 10 minutes later (it seemed an eternity), the pilot came over the intercom and announced that we had been struck by lightning, and we would continue to Auckland. When we landed in Auckland, we disembarked on the tarmac, and I watched them tow the aircraft away. When I went to return back to Wellington that evening, there was an hours delay. The plane we were on had been removed from service and was now with engineering. That was a trip I will never forget. I love my windy city.❤
The E190 was my favorite aircraft to fly on when I travelled a lot for work. Fast, quiet and comfortable, 2x2 seating and the sense you were in a business jet not a cattle truck like the awful 737. I miss those days.
Living in Sydney now for 24 years, Wellington remains my home-city. I sincerely miss that wind, & have made ~20 landings at Wellington airport over the years - A few dodgy thumps, but no go-arounds yet. Those Quantas pilots should certainly be commended. Looks like an average day on the strait though. Worse landing I've had was actually at Sydney (from Brisbane) when a Jet-Star pilot thought a vertical approach was a good idea .. We literally bounced & enjoyed 1 or 2 screaming passengers. Interesting that your fellow passengers applauded as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac (still exceeding 250kph) - I don't relax until about 180kph or so. Nice video thanks Av8er. 🕊🐖🕊
