Watch me land this bad boy sideways:

[Kingofalldems]

Link to tweet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Nicely done but I'm surprised they even tried.

40 kts is outside the ops specs of most airlines (at least in the US).

[Major Nikon]

5. Looks like more than 40 kts

Although it's hard to tell from the camera angle. IIRC I think the specs for most airlines is 30kts for most of their modern airframes.

I've heard FedEx in Memphis will take up to 30kt tailwinds because it gets them into their sorting center sooner. That seems even more insane to me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. A couple of the best pilots I knew started out flying for IcelandAir.

The wind at KEF is always horrendous. But 30 kts is the most allowed in most cases, and that's pretty hair-raising. I recall seeing a video of an A320 landing in a bad crosswind at (I think) FRA, and they hit a wingtip and knocked off the wingtip fence.

[Major Nikon]

7. I've done 30 kts x-winds several times in my 182

It gets pretty close to the limits of the rudder, but there's little danger of dragging a wing.

24kts is the max x-wind for TR deployment in all the CL-600 series jets. I've done 20 in the plane and more in the sim. The biggest worry was keeping the windward wingtip off the ground.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Here's the video I mentioned. They whacked the wingtip and did a go-around,

and I'll bet someone found himself doing the rug dance in the chief pilot's office the next day.

[Major Nikon]

9. You always want to have a good answer to the question...

Captain, what were you thinking when you did that?

[Dennis Donovan]

10. I watched a 210 come in w/ a 30 kt direct crosswind component...

The pilot was a Pearl Harbor survivor and a friend. The wind pushed him off the runway and into a parked Aztec - his nosewheel ended up in the cabin of the Aztec and the tail of the Aztec was sheered off by the starboard wing of the 210. The 210 flopped onto the ramp, prop still turning full power in the failed attempt at going around. I was on a ladder fueling the 172 I was about to fly and the 210 slid towards me and the 172, but slid to a stop just short. Poor Harold (the pilot of the 210) was 74, was ok and I believe he never flew again.

[Major Nikon]

11. The sad part is he had probably handled that much x-wind many times before

At some point you have to hang up your wings. Anyone who has been flying for a long time probably knows an AME and a CFI that will sign them off when they really shouldn't be signed off.

[ProudLib72]

2. That took some skill!

[bluecollar2]

3. Ex WW2 Spitfire pilot?... n/t

[Laffy Kat]

4. Hey, I used to do that in a glider w/o a motor!

It's called crabbing.

[2naSalit]

12. Pilot is a woman! ...nt