Aviation downloads and videos

Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport (now closed) was legendary for its approach procedure, which was offset 90 degrees from the runway heading. Pilots of even the largest jumbo jets had to make a tight turn at low altitude just seconds before touching down. Here, a Korean Airlines 747 makes what, believe it or not, is a typical approach into this airport.

If the gear is going to fail on a 737, this is one of the worst ways for it to happen — one main landing gear is up, the other is down. But the pilot does a great job of keeping the aircraft on the runway. There is something to be said for fixed gear…

On October 31st, 2000, this Boeing 747-400 operated by Singapore Airlines crashed on Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport (CKS Airport), Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. The plane attempted to take off on a partially close runway. Heavy rain and strong winds from typhoon “Xangsane” prevailed at the time of the accident. 83 out of the 179 people onboard were killed. This video shot by a passenger of a nearby airplane shows the Boeing 747 on fire just after the crash.

Here’s a brand new Air France Airbus A320 making what was supposed to be a fly-by at a 1998 airshow. The pilot claims the highly automated control system on the A320 failed to respond properly to commands. The official investigation blamed pilot error as the cause, but it was later revealed that the aircraft’s black boxes had been switched after the crash. What really happened? Who knows.