The World's Most Dangerous Airport!

[JustPlanes]

Just released our Blu-ray about Lukla... Also available DVD for download..

Program Info
http://www.worldairroutes.com/Welcome.html

Video
http://youtu.be/w2uhdigW1aU

[jan_olieslagers]

That's bloody bullshit all of it.
There is no such thing as a dangerous airport.
The real danger is in the pilots.

[KriVa]

Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed...

[galaxy]

Accidents are not always pilot's fault. To land at Lukla in bad weather must not be easy at all.

Incidents and accidents[edit]
On 15 October 1973, on landing at the airport, a Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter 300, registration 9N-ABG, was damaged beyond repair. The three crew and three passengers were unhurt.[8]
On 9 June 1991, flying from Kathmandu, a Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter 300, registration 9N-ABA, crashed at the airport while attempting to land following an unstabilized approach in bad weather. All three crew and fourteen passengers were unhurt.[9]
On 26 September 1992, a Royal Air Nepal Harbin Yunshuji Y-12-11 registered 9N-ACI faltered during take-off and was damaged beyond repair. All on board (twelve passengers and two crew) survived.[10]
On 25 May 2004, while on approach to the airport, a Yeti Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 (registration 9N-AFD) flying from Kathmandu crashed into Lamjura Hill in heavy clouds. No passengers were on board; all three crew members were killed. The Nepalese accident investigation committee concluded that the captain provided inaccurate information about his position to the Area Control Centre.[11]
On 1 October 2004, on landing at the airport, a Sita Air Dornier Do 228 suffered a collapse of its nose gear and slid along the runway, blocking it once it had come to rest. The airport was closed for two days.[12]
On 30 June 2005, a Gorkha Airlines Dornier Do 228 skidded off the runway while attempting to land. The nine passengers and three crew suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was reportedly withdrawn from use and written off after the accident.[13][14]
On 8 October 2008, Yeti Airlines Flight 103, a DHC-6 Twin Otter (registration 9N-AFE) crashed on final approach and caught fire, killing eighteen passengers and crew. The aircraft's captain was the only survivor. Video of the incident showed inclement weather at the time of the incident.[15]
On 25 August 2010, Agni Air Flight 101, a Dornier Do 228, crashed at Shikharpur while returning to Kathmandu after bad weather had prevented it from reaching Lukla. All eleven passengers and three crew perished.[16]
On 12 October 2010, a Sita Air Dornier Do 228 (registration 9N-AHB) lost braking control and impacted the wall-end of the runway during landing. All passengers and crew on board survived without injuries and the aircraft received damage to its nose.[17]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzing-Hi ... _accidents

[jan_olieslagers]

I am fully willing to believe that. It doesn't alter the fact that danger is not in the place, or its meteo conditions: pilots are trained to judge the risks, however high; it is up to the pilot to undertake the flight, or remain on safe ground. "Captain's discretion" being the magic word.

Of course, yes I know, there is social and economical pressure and what not, and if pilot X refuses the flight then the airline will soon put pilot B in place - still the danger is NOT in the airport. The airport may be difficult, and this place does look like very difficult, yes yes indeed, I'll not be venturing there anywhere soon. But danger is a matter of risk assessment, technical difficulties are at another level.

I so hate the media turning around the vocabulary for the sole interest of their profitability.

[andorra-airport]

Lukla is not a dangerous airport. It is a challenging airport. Same for Saba, St. Maarten, Courchevel and others.

That said, there ARE dangerous airports, most of them closed for that reason. To name a few: Værøy Airport (VRY), Norway. Bad wind conditions most of the time . After a deadly crash, due to turbulence and high wind speeds, they closed the shop.

Agostinho Neto , (NTO) , Cape Verde islands, dangerous crosswinds and weather that is often below VFR minima. Closed. Brava island airport, in that country, same story.

A dangerous airport that is served, by the military, is the one on Jan Mayen island. (Norway). There is often Kármán wind due to a nearby vulcano .
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... mation.gif

A C-130 almost crashed beacause of this.