Afterpurchasingtheland, hefolloweditupbybuying a bunchoflocalliquorandgaveittothelocalSherpasinexchangethattheyallperform a footstompingdancetoflattenoutthelandfor a runway, sortoflike a bigdrunkenhakadancetomakethelandasflataspossible.
Sincetheairportwasbuilton a plateauinthemountains, itmeansthatthenorthendoftherunwayfacesdirectlyintothefaceof a mountain, andthesouthernenddramaticallyplungesoff a cliff 600 m downintothevalleybelow.
Italsomeansthattherearenogoaroundproceduresfortheairport, whicharenormallyusedwhenanairplaneneedstoaboard a landingattemptaftermakingitsfinalapproachtotherunway.
Soonce a planebeginsitsdescentintoLuklaairport, ithasnootherchoicethantowlandtheplane, regardlessofanythingelsethatmighthappenandanothermajorproblemthatpilotsfacewhenflyingintoLuklaairportistherapidlychangingweatherpatternsthatafflictthearea.
Oneofthemorerecentcrashesthattookplaceattheairportwasin 2019 when a L 4 10 turboletaircraftwithonlythecrewonboardveeredofftherunwayduringtakeoffandcrashedinto a helicopter 50 m offfromtherunway.
Anotheraccidenttookplacein 2017, whereanother L 4 10 terbulletwasperforming a freightflightandtrytomake a landingduringpoorvisibility, lostaltitudefromcomingintoslowandclipped a treewithitslandingyearjustshortoftherunway.
Twooutofthethreecrewmembersdiedfromthisincident, buttheworstcrashthathappenedattheairporttookplacebackin 2000 andeight, when a DHCsixtwinhonorhad a similarincidentasthepreviouscrash, wheretheplanecameintolowandstruckthegroundbeforetherunwayandalsosliddownthemountainside 200 m.
Today, a pilotmusthaveatleast 100 shorttakeoffandlandingmissions, withover a yearofthemtakingplaceinNepalandtheymusthavecompletedatleast 10 separate, successfullandingsatLuklaAirportitselfwith a certifiedinstructor.
Butnomatterhowgreat a pilotISS, nobodyiscapableoflandingsomethingbigger.
しかし、いくらISSのパイロットが偉くても、もっと大きなものを着陸させることができる人はいません。
LikeanAirbus A 3 80 atLuklaAirport.
ルクラ空港のエアバスA 3 80みたいな。
Thewingofthe A 3 80 isthelargesteverproducedfor a civilairliner, andthetotallengthofitfromendtoendisnearlytriplethewidthoftherunwayatLukla, whichiskindofabsurd.
A 3 80の翼は民間旅客機としては過去最大のもので、端から端までの全長はルクラの滑走路幅の3倍近くあり、なんだか不条理な感じがします。
Theprocessofconstructingtheabsurd, A 3 80 isoneofthegreatestengineeringmarvelsofthe 21stcentury, andyoucanlearnallabouttheprocessnextbyheadingovertocuriositystreamandwatchingtheincrediblyindepthdocumentaryHowtoBuild a SuperJumboWing, whichdiscussestheprocessinthe A 3 80.