How pilots land their planes in powerful crosswinds
An Etihad A380 landing at Heathrow airport in 2017. (Jarek Kilian/)(Deposit Photos /)Watching an aircraft land on a day with strong crosswinds is a hypnotic, breath-holding experience. The big metal bird comes in with its nose pointed askew, the wings may see-saw back and forth, the landing itself might appear rough or bouncy—and occasionally, the pilot just aborts the procedure and takes off again. A recent nail-biter of a video is a case in point: It shows a giant A380 landing in strong winds on February 15 in London—coming in somewhat sideways, plunking down its back wheels, then lining itself up with the runway as its nose wheel descends. Other footage from earlier in the month shows even more high-wind landings as pilots guided their aircrafts down onto solid ground.Pilots landing in strong crosswinds have a number of considerations and techniques at hand when taking a plane down during final...