Watch four flights doing a quick take off from Lukla Airport 16MAR09. The runway is very short. Lukla is the airport for climbing Mount Everest og trekking in the Everest Region.
That airport has a runway of 400 meters, steep, and to make matters worse, at 3000 meters high (less oxygen equal to less acceleration) is on the edge of a cliff... Tourism for everest is worth everything, apparently.
40 years ago I flew out of Lukla, dirt tarmack, not paved, my recollection was a patted down farmer's field. This looks modern and safe in comparrison!
This is similar on how planes took off from aircraft carriers in WWII. There were no catapults back then. The technique for short field takeoffs is to drop flaps to 20 percent, max rpms on the engines, props set for max rpm. Release the brakes and keep the ship on the deck until the last few seconds, noting your airspeed, the pull off the deck and climb. If heavily loaded, the plane might sink into the valley off the end of the runway, but nose down a bit to gain speed, then climb out. The main concern is density altitude. The cold air helps, but the thinness of the atmosphere is the greatest issue to keep in mind.
First Pilot: "I'm so good, I don't need that three metres at the start of the runway." Second Pilot: "Screw that, I'm taking every metre I can get." Third Pilot: "Watch how close I can get my tail to the wall without shredding it off." Fourth Pilot: "Bugger this, I'm rotating NOW." (Airborne 20 metres before the drop off.)
but you also need to take weight into account (passengers, luggage/cargo, fuel), which is a variable in the 4 flights (including airplane models with different power/weight ratios)
The last aircraft in the video is Tara Air registered as 9N-AET. It was a twin engine mini passenger aircraft (Twin Otter). It crashed on May 29, 2022 (all fatality). Rest in peace all passengers and crew on board.
Not only that, the first 9N-AHB was involved in a non-fatal incident (repairable crash landing) and hit a boar on take-off. The second one 9N-AIG, was destroyed, with fatalities and survivors. :(
@@PrimalSMG All registered airlines have the designations on their fuselages at the rear. It's like their license plates. Kinda cool that in 2022 someone would be watching this and NOT know that. Zero offense intended.
In 2009 I flew into this airport to do the Mt. Everest Base Camp trek. It is truly an experience. When we were scheduled to depart, there was a thick cloud base but eventually we were able to get seats on the last flight out that day. A few weeks later, one of these aircraft crashed killing all onboard. The basic approach is very similar to an aircraft landing, you come in, cut power and touch down. While 9k isn't that high, the terrain basically eliminates any option of a go around once on short final. What is deceiving here is the runway isn't flat, it is sloped downward towards the initial touchdown area. Great experience, I personally wouldn't want to roll the dice for a second trip.
As an amateur private pilot I can say you just saw some of the finest flying imaginable. In order to build enough speed for take off on limited runways it's necessary to gain maximum revs from your engines so you do this by opening up the throttles to max while holding on the brakes. When max revs have been reached you release the brakes and off you go. I noticed that none of the pilots took off before he/she had to as they then had max lift resulting in great take offs. Wonderful flying.
One thing I learned even on approaching Katmandu. You don't fly into clouds in Nepal because the clouds have rocks in them. I was waiting at Lukla for the fog to lift. I heard the record was a month and a half. Anyway I walked to the bottom of the runway to see that the retaining wall there was made of bits and pieces of crashed planes. It filled me with confidence. So much so that we thought the week to walk out would be time well spent.
This is a paved airport, no balls needed for this. Go try a dirt airfield in the jungle with a slope between mountains. 😉 this right here on video is nothing
Awesome, thanks for sharing those takeoffs from this very unique airport. I am sure I am not the only viewer who would love to experience that airport live!!
The last aircraft to depart was a twin otter. The others were D228 Dornier Aircraft. The Lukla approach and departures are most difficult due to obstructions and fog. There is only a small window each day for normal operations. You get in and out as quickly as possible. The elevation simply adds to the fun. The people we care for and those who live there depend on a great deal of their supplies coming on the aircraft that we fly into the field. There are no cars there as there are no roads on which to drive them. After 150 plus countries and territories this place for me is the most fascinating! Mind you, there is a great risk just travel as a passenger and there are no promises save the great time that you will have should you decide to take the risk! Have fun!! A veteran of many approaches and departures at Lukla over the past 10 years.
G Flint I went from Kathmandu to Lukla with a trekking group back in 1997, in one of their Russian twin prop helicopters. They needed a runway to take off. We were seated down the sides and we're given cotton wool to put in our ears. Down the middle of the cargo space was a mix of roofing iron, windows and other assorted building materials and supplies for the villages. They stopped using them a little later. It was a worry when leaving Kathmandu, to see other helicopters and planes undergoing a strip down maintenance outside on the dirt parking areas. The guide said we should save any chewing gum to help fill up any holes in the sides. Landing in Lukla wasn't too bad but taking off again was very scary, you basically just fell off the edge. Tourists are often stranded there for days waiting for clear weather to be able to depart.
So you have travelled a lot. Doesn't make you any better than someone who has lived their life differently. Not really sure why you need to boast because nobody else benefits from it. Thank you.
Fantastic that you showed this! Been there done that over 20 years ago! Helicopters have difficulty landing there. The flight (back to Kathmandu) we were on allowed on with drums of Av gas on board, (despite some VV basic security, cigarette lighters) and yes Chickens! It was like out of the movies. Our plane headed directly for a mountain range (seen here) then banked to the left and off we flew down the valley. A bunch of us wanted to wait for a Jet Ranger (some military guys) to leave with them for a better view back but missed out, although they did take back some American trekkers, who later, when we caught up with them in Kathmandu, said it was a great trip back. It's an amazing place and this video has really brought back some memories. Should say we took a local bus to Jiri, then trekked to go to Kalapatar, Everest base camp and the surrounding areas. The thing I see missing from the runway is lots of plane wreckage (undercarriages) when I was there.
Twin Otter just so gracefully and effortlessly rose into the air all by itself, amazing machine!!! And then the silence and serenity descended back into the mountains as the planes left... nice!
The only fact that the Canadian De Havilland DH-6 Twin Otter and the German Dornier Do-228 are authorized for regular service at Lukla Hillary-Tenzing gives me full confidence in these types!
All very Douglas Adams; Flight Control: "You see that mountain over there?" Pilot: "Roger." FC: "You're going to aim at it, hit the throttle-" P: "Okay..." FC: "-and then miss the mountain." P: "..."
@@robegatt i think he means that in order to read that 24 at the correct orientation you would have to come from an impossible angle that would never happen in approach
What happens when they problem with takeoff they can't cancel ...too dangerous but too beautiful ...and hats off to the pilots because they are doing their work pin point accuracy everyday....
I was a passenger on one of these in Nov 2009. A group of us flew in and did the trekk to Mt. Everest Base Camp and on our return to Lukla, were the last flight out before the weather closed the airport. On our arrival, the pilots left the cabin door open so we could video the approach. Very exciting, a bit insane, and I'm glad i had the once in a life time opportunity. I think a few weeks after our departure, one of these crashed killing all on board - a group of German tourist if I remember correctly.
I flew from Kathmandu to Lumbini on their domestic airline. All the Nepalese were doing some gesture similar to the sign of the cross and I didn't think anything of it - until I got back and found out there was a crash a week before and many more before that.
This was once a much less developed dirt strip, with the same type of aircraft operating in and out. I believe there is a video on youtube of the strip in its unpaved form.
Amazing flying ..good for many people in plane..🤔😜.! Amazing nature , watching Thx for sharing ! Best regards from Canada! It is not known when the crazier pilot or those who go to Mount Everest🍁👍💕🍷👌🍁
Caramba. Em 4,5 minutos, quatro decolagens. Já vi um vídeo desse aeroporto em que o avião pousa, vai até o páteo, desce os passageiros e bagagem, é recarregado com as novas bagagens e passageiros e decola em 6 minutos. Nesse tempo um outro avião pousa e vai até o páteo. Impressionante...
I flew out in 1982 when the runway was an unpaved yak pasture. They sounded an alarm as the plane approached and the herders drove the yaks off the runway. Often times the ground was too muddy from melted snow or rain to land or take off. The airport was sometimes closed for days or even weeks. Trekkers had to hike out during these times. It took about 10 days or so of difficult hiking to get to Kathmandu, but if you had a flight out of the country on a certain date, you had no choice.
I remember trying this out in flight simulator after Cessna154 made a video. I stalled and smashed into the side of the mountain trying to land like a normal low altitude airport.
Just remember, this airport is at a very high altitude! (9,383ft to be exact!) These types of planes, the Dorniers in this case, have very little horsepower at this altitude. Also, the Otter has stronger turboprops than the 228's so it gets a little more horsepower than the others. At sea level, the horsepower is about the same.
There is SO much going on in videos at Lukla. Personally it ranks as the #1 everything airport. As a pilot at Lukla there is no plan B, and there is no changing your mind. The fact that that these tubes and boxes can even fly should still boggle everyone's mind. Lukla is probably the only airport in the world where if you come sliding sideways but make it, it's just a run of the mill landing. By far the greatest Air Traffic Control tower in the world.
i flew from there many times and if you look to the right you see where there is old crash sites below and they have there fair share of them, its where a lot of pilots start there careers flying from airports like these then move on to the bigger airlines ,
Ten four on the whiskey and runway, also adult diapers! Would stick my tail off the runway too, the first one just wheels it out and left a little on the table! Brave souls! Lordy!
I have flown there in 2018 summer for EBC trek. Due to poor weather conditions for both legs of the journey, we were stuck in Lukla for more than a day as no flights could operate. .. in fact that was the case for last 3 days, so there was virtually a stampede to get a seat on the flight. Ultimately we ended up taking helicopter flights in both directions, which was more expensive and equally scary as poor visibility and tall mountains all around, which had ensured no planes could fly at that time. Only helicopters were permitted to fly, and that too for a short time window only. Of course, it is easier for a helicopter to operate at Lukla as it doesn’t have to use full length of the short runway. While a plane takes about 20 minutes, helicopter takes double the time to cover the Kathmandu-Lukla journey.
The people who made this airport be like- "Alright Johnny, we need an airport atop a mountain!" Yes sir! Let's make it five of the edge, too! GENIUS JOHNNY
I flew in to Lukla in 2001. It is more terrifying than this movie suggests. You land, going uphill at 30º, on a runway dug with shovels, and buildings at the end (from one of which this movie must be taken). The turboprops they were flying then were not as powerful. (We flew in but walked out, after watch the planes take off.) What I saw was each plane go off the runway and drop out of sight. After a minute or so, if all was well, you would hear the drone of the engine as the plane climbed out of the dive that gave it takeoff speed. Truly best as an only once in a lifetime experience. I know this firsthand. We trecked the first day down the trail off the end of the runway. I forget the size of the canyon, but it was around a 3,000 foot drop. Every person in our group was glad we were not flying out.
probably not as close call as it looks. they wait until a safe speed is reached in case one engine quits. the twin otter looked like it had a huge margin by bush standards.
Actually there's no landing at this airport. The planes are dissembled 40km away and brought up the mountain in pieces on yaks. Then they are reassembled at the airport.
They’ve definitely built up the area around this and made it super nice, now. This looks like a destitute shanty town. I just saw a recent one and it looks like a nice resort, now.
LOL! Great video; I remember having this scenery in Flight Simulator many years ago - it was scary enough as a simulation, I can only imagine what it is like in real life! The only thing that could possibly be worse is landing there!
Good views. I liked the second departure better; the pilot realized it was prudent to use the entire runway, not just the part that happens to be left of the gate from the parking lot. Relevant facts: Tenzing-Hillary Airport (IATA: LUA, ICAO: VNLK) The runway is 527 m (1,729 ft) × 30 m (98 ft) with a 11.7% gradient. The airport's elevation is 9,334 ft (2,845 m). No go-arounds on landing, no landing aids, no fooling around! Thanks, Wikipedia! Sad fact: Occasionally someone dies who would not die if a pilot took steps to a) use the entire runway b) throttle the engines up to an appropriate take-off power before releasing the brakes.
The second plane (9N-AIG) crashed on May 14th, 2012. 3 years after this video has been released. A Dornier Do 228 passenger plane, 9N-AIG, was destroyed when it struck the side of a mountain during near Jomsom, Nepal. Thirteen passengers and two pilots were killed. The flight attendant and five passengers survived the accident. The flight had departed Pokhara (PKR) on a domestic passenger flight to Jomsom (JMO). According to the head of Nepal's national rescue department, the pilot told air traffic control moments before the crash that he was diverting back to Pokhara. The airplane crashed into the side of a hill near Marpha village.
Same principle applies ? You're crazy ! Most airports don't have a 1,000 ft drop off at the end of the runway.. This is real life not a flight sim on the computer..
***** There seens to be an unpublished (?) missed approach procedure, however. Seems legit enough to me. If you have not already turned NE for the airport the last time, you will climb, fly along the valley north, turn left and fly back to the NDB (beacon) where you came from. platinumairways.org/files/VNLKChart.jpg
I was an aviation meteorologist for the USAF in Alaska. We had a couple of DEW Line sites on top of mountains, in box canyons. The Flight Information Publications, or FLIPS, stated "go arounds not authorized." Field minimums, weather wise, were 3000' and 3 miles visibility..which happened once every couple of weeks in the winter. PAIM is the one that I remember most, Indian Mountain.
We flew in and out of Lukla in October 2000 when it was still a gravel runway and no control tower. On returning from a trek to Gokyo Ri our departure flight was quite scary. The apron was full of aircraft and there was an approaching plane so what did our pilot of a twin Otter do, he taxied straight out and without stopping proceeded his roll down the runway straight away. Our hearts were in our mouths as we had seen the wrecks down below of those that did not make it. We lifted off just in time and tgen had to bank to the left to avoid the incoming the incoming craft. What a ride!
No it wasn't. They just use the whole runway since it's high altitude and there's no need to ascend quickly so you just go straight off the end. You won't fall.
Wow this is amazing !!! The airstrip is too short. and it turned out that the aircraft could fly even though the runway was very short. only experienced pilots can fly a small aircraft... amazing
