Back to Squawk list
  • 47

KLM 747’s jet blast damages 17 vehicles

Enviado
 
A KLM Boeing 747 damaged at least 17 vehicles upon making a left turn instead of a right turn after landing at Saint Martin's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). (www.thedailyherald.com) Más...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


Beebolini
Brent McNamee 4
Michael Bishop - in the article, it mentions that the damage was to cars that "were parked in the vicinity of Mary's Boon and Karakter Beach Bar."

If you Google Earth those, they are located by the turnaround in the MIDDLE of the runway by Simpson Bay, not at either end. There are no taxi markings there, which explains a lot...
Beebolini
Brent McNamee 4
...of course, the weird thing is - why was the 747 turning around in the middle of the runway?

Here's the Google Maps link, zoomed in to the turnaround... https://goo.gl/maps/SxY60
eracnat
charles murrman 3
It's called "back taxi", not unusually for aircraft not exiting on taxiway or wanting to expidite return to the terminal via the runway. Of course, only with permission from the ground controller.
tf51d
Thomas Cain 2
It's actually required at TNCM since there are no taxiways past mid field. So they have to back taxi to the nearest taxiway. This is the case at other airports as well. The real question is why are park vehicles that close to the runway.
PhotoFinish
PhotoFinish 0
It's a small island. They have to squeeze things in wherever they can, including squeezing in a full commercial airport and runway.

The reason for only allowing large plane to turn in one direction is so that they don't direct the thrust from the plane's powerful engines toward nearby facilities.

That's why it was do obnoxious of the pilots to do what they did.

1. They did not properly consider the impact of their engine's thrust on the surrounding environment. And

2. They didn't follie clearly marked directions for proper turns (both on the pavement and noted inntheir charts).

The pilots' action was extremely inconsiderate. I would even take the liberty of using the term narcissistic to describe their actions.
eracnat
charles murrman -1
It's called "back taxi" and is not unusually...pilots ask permission from ground
controller in order to expedite movement to terminal via runway without the various turns and stoppages along the taxi route.
moxamstudios
J L 3
It seems possible that they did two things wrong. They not only turned the wrong way, but they may have used the mid-runway turnaround instead of traveling all the way to the end of the runway.

According to the info published on airnav.com, in the additional remarks for Princess Juliana International Airport : ALL B767 JET ACFT AND HEAVIER LNDG RY 10 SHALL ROLL OUT TO EOR, USE THE TURNING BAY AND MAKE TURNS TO THE RGT.

(All Boeing 767 jet aircraft and heavier, landing on Runway 10, shall roll out to the end of the runway, use the turning bay, and make turns to the right)
jshhmr
josh homer 3
Isn't it standard at that airport that at the end of the runway, you veer slightly left to follow the line, then right to turn around? Did they not see the yellow line?
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 0
They were probably non-standard pilots!!!
flygirl620se
Sharon Stewart 3
They typically fly about anything into this airport. I have stayed at the resort adjacent to the airport It is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME to sit by the pool overlooking the arrival/departure end of the runway and watch planes land and take off! Also fun to watch the brainless hang onto the fence as planes depart. Have seen quite a few blasted onto the beach. You can gauge arrivals by watching the pelicans, when a plane is on arrival, the pelicans hit the water FAST. Much better than humans!
LBSPX
LBSPX 1
What was the name of the resort you stayed at please Sharon? Thanks.

flygirl620se
Sharon Stewart 3
It was The Sonesta Maho Beach. Go and enjoy. You can rent a car and travel all over the island. It is fairly safe as the Carribean goes, but use some common sense. The French side has incredible restaurants and beaches. St Bart's is a short plane or ferry ride and it is SPECTACULAR!
ERICEAST52
Eric East 1
Even more awsome is the sight from Royal Islander or The Terrace Resort
It s an awsome sight but can be Noisy during peak hours 14hr to 17hrs

Have fun.
rarebear14
Dolf Brouwers 3
I am Dutch and old and once bold, over the years I learned that there is a lot I do not know.....many accidents or near misses involved top notch pilots .
Lets be more humble , we are just humans
not meant to fly ...;-)
AviatorMom
Barbara Gould 6
KLM pilots "know it all" They are Dutch. Didn't anyone ever tell you that only the Dutch know everything? LOL
PhotoFinish
PhotoFinish 3
They were narcissistic asses, or at least the pilot in control.

They both disregarded the rules, and didn't bother to consider the impact of the thrust from their heavy airplane on the environment around (being at a small airport on a small island).

Even without the rules, they should've been mindful of their plane's impact on others around them. But with the rules in place and the markings on the ground, there simply is no excuse.

It's not a mistake. It's an obnoxious disregard for others.
joeffinger
joeffinger 2
At least they made it to the correct airport, which several US pilots didn't accomplish recently.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

Moviela
Ric Wernicke -1
"If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." is a slogan found on a delft tile in many kitchens.
AviatorMom
Barbara Gould 0
@Ric....proof positive, that the Dutch believe they are smarter and better than others. Guess their performance at this airport proved otherwise. LOL :)
MartinGD
Martin Dewhurst 2
I would just love to see those insurance claims and the description of the 'accident'. Especially when filling in details of 'The other vehicle involved'!
rebelbr1
Hunter Brame 2
Thts hilarious poor cars
Piloto68
Marco Croes 2
JL, that info changed and now states all Jet aircraft will make a RIGHT turn at first turnbay or a left turn at the end of RWY10 (when landing on RWY10).
Right turn means that the FO has to do turn, in this case Captain was at controls and made a left turn. I agree that that turnbay should ONLY be for narrowbody aircrafts with widebody aircrafts going to the end of runway where there is a bigger and better turningbay. By doing such a sharp turn, you cause stress to runway pavement.
daveblevins52
Dave Blevins 2
Well, if back taxiing is a fairly normal practice there (I think it is), how come this time is different ? Isn't this the place where the landings are right over the roadway and people on the beach ? And if it is, you can't blame an airplane operator if you end up getting hurt, or anything else due to your own stupidity. If, in this case the aircraft was directed to turn that way, what seems to be the problem ? Has this ever happened before at this airport ? Something doesn't smell right here since it made the local "news"paper.
PhotoFinish
PhotoFinish 2
Yes, yes, and no.

It is that place, where we've seen those people.

In this case it was different because the pilots didn't follow the posted rules (on the pavement and on the charts).

They turned in the WRONG direction. So rather than their engine thrust blasting an area with nothing, it blasted an area on the other lateral widely the runway, that had people, cars, and other developments.

That's the problem. Pilots didn't follow directions.

They built up on one side and left the other side open because of the big plane engine thrust blast.

These guys either wanted to see how many people they were going to knock over, or didn't even care. Either way, they're not very nice people. (putting it in nicely, thoughbother words may be more appropriate).
huy3825
Q B 2
It reminds me of the James Bond movie (The World Is Not Enough) where the guy says "The insurance company is not going to believe this". LOL
sanukjim
James Wilson Jr 2
We are going to see this type of reports more and more as airlines cutting back on cost and in need of pilots will be hiring more of the "Parker Pen"boys and girls.
mbish01
Michael Bishop 2
see Google Earth--the yellow taxi lines have arrows on them, indicating "one-way" path to turn around--clockwise only, i.e. RIGHT turn!!!!
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
How did they get that thing into St. Martin I wonder...
peterlmaas2
Peter Maas 0
Peter Maas, I am Dutch and a U.S.Air Force Vet. Believe me Pilots in The Netherlands go through an intensive training and if they do qualify for International flights those pilots are rated t0p-notch. Why not extend the runway??? The Dutch are famous for claiming land from the sea. This way thrill seekers are kept away from the exhaust blast.The world is loaded with idiots.
MartinGD
Martin Dewhurst -2
Quite agree! One of those 'idiots' is called PhotoFinish..see his comments for proof!
ivjmci
Ivan McIntosh 0
If this was a crew unfamiliar with SINT MAARTEN, they could easily have been distracted with the added stress of the tight landing and confusing parking. So, let's give them a break.
cquemba
imagen muy buena

[This poster has been suspended.]

rmfg
Rob Gibbs 4
I believe I speak for a number of people in saying that not alot of people care about these spam comments...
PhotoFinish
PhotoFinish 8
The organize gang that keeps posting them are very interested.

They want any of the following:
1. Get you to click on a link to their fake pills website, and/or fake whatever site

2. Get your personal and/or financial info.

3. Want to install bot software on your computer to
a) use your computer to commit their crimes
b) get your account info and
passwords
c) get your personal pics
d) get your financials
e) etc.

DON'T CLICK ON THESE SPAM LINKS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Flight aware should do a better job of getting rid of these spam comments and their payload. Either allow the community to remove comments that get repeated spam reports and/or act more quickly when multiple readers indicate that a commet is spam.

That comments are left on so long is the only reason, these ganssters keep posting them.

Entrar

¿No tienes cuenta? ¡Regístrate ahora (gratis) para acceder a prestaciones personalizadas, alertas de vuelos y mucho más!
¿Sabías que el rastreo de vuelos de FlightAware se sostiene gracias a los anuncios?
Puedes ayudarnos a que FlightAware siga siendo gratuito permitiendo que aparezcan los anuncios de FlightAware.com. Trabajamos arduamente para que nuestros anuncios sean discretos y de interés para el rubro a fin de crear una experiencia positiva. Es rápido y fácil whitelist ads en FlightAware o por favor considera acceder a nuestras cuentas premium.
Descartar