Amidst the forceful headwinds of Storm Dennis, pilots of Etihad Airbus A380 made a remarkable landing at London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday when the aircraft hovered sideways over the runway before successfully landing.
Video footage shows the passenger plane’s pilots carrying out what is known as a highly-skilled “crab” maneuver, in which the pilot flies the plane into the wind, perpendicular to the runway as they land. The video has since gone viral.
Etihad Airbus A380 was one of the last flights to fly into the UK as hundreds of incoming and outgoing flights were grounded due to the storm, with easyJet canceling more than 230 flights.
‘From now on, that’s how you land!’ Earlier today at @HeathrowAirport: @Airbus A380 @EtihadAirways, crosswind landing during #StormDennis. @AirbusPRESS @a380fanclub @stef_schaffrath @sara_rcc @AirbusintheUK pic.twitter.com/VmlK1d25Gs
— Aeronews (@AeronewsGlobal) February 15, 2020
Storm Dennis is the fourth named storm of the season to have hit the UK, just days after Storm Ciara. The current storm has brought gusts of wind up to 50mph and more than a month’s worth of rainfall throughout the weekend.
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued a record-breaking 594 flood warnings in England.
Georgie Timmins, crisis response officer at the British Red Cross, said: “The storms are expected to continue, and water is anticipated to be at peak levels on Monday and Tuesday. It is important people are ready should the worst happen.”
