Incredible footage has been unveiled that shows a pilot landing his plane on some of the most dangerous runways in the world – including one with a 30 per cent gradient and others that can barely be seen on the approach amid mountainous rainforest.
Brit Matt Dearden, 45, has been revealing scary landings he makes using cockpit and external cameras, explaining: ‘These videos show various landings in a mountainous and remote region of Papua, Indonesia.
‘The aircraft is a Swiss-built Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter that is perfectly suited for the role.
‘Dangers include the terrain, tropical weather and the location of the airstrips.
‘I was unable to find work as a pilot in Europe and so found this job in Indonesia working for Susi Air. I only planned to stay for a couple of years to gain some experience but ended up enjoying bush flying too much and so I stayed for seven years.
Incredible footage has been unveiled by pilot Matt Dearden that shows him landing his plane in Indonesia on some of the most dangerous runways in the world. Pictured above is Wipon airstrip, which has a 19 per cent gradient
Dangers for Matt include the terrain, tropical weather and the obscure location of the airstrips
Matt explains that some of the airstrips are so steep that if the angle of approach is wrong ‘you could rip the undercarriage off’
‘Bangga is one of the most dramatic runways at 30 per cent upslope and leaves no room for error. Even after touching down, you need to keep the landing momentum up in order to get the aircraft to the top of the airstrip.
‘If you don’t, you’ll be stuck and the aircraft’s brakes won’t hold on such a steep slope.
‘Landing on Bangga is like trying to fly into a brick wall and land the aircraft. The pitch change from a landing attitude into a steep climb for the touchdown requires balancing the aircraft’s energy with power and airspeed.
The plane Matt flies is a Swiss-built Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter ‘that is perfectly suited for the role’
Matt reveals: ‘I was unable to find work as a pilot in Europe and so found this job in Indonesia working for Susi Air. I only planned to stay for a couple of years to gain some experience but ended up enjoying bush flying too much and so I stayed for seven years.’ Above is Bangga airstrip, which has a 30 per cent incline at the top
‘You also need to maintain that energy after touchdown to ensure you have enough to get all the way up to the top so you can turn around. It’s so steep, the aircraft brakes won’t hold it if you stop!
‘Salema is incredibly short and requires a very accurate approach to minimise the landing roll.
‘To touchdown right at the start of such a sloped airstrip, you need to flare in the space below and before it to ensure you touchdown perfectly at the start but not too early, or you’ll rip the undercarriage off!’
Matt’s book – Flying from Shangri-La: What it was really like in the ‘Worst Place to be a Pilot’ – is available on Amazon.
Matt’s book – Flying from Shangri-La: What it was really like in the ‘Worst Place to be a Pilot’ – is available on Amazon
