A terrifying video shows the moment a passenger jet was forced to abort its landing during Britain's 'storm of the century'

Mia Jankowicz

Feb 10, 2020, 17:19 IST

A terrifying video shows the moment a passenger jet was forced to abort its landing during Britain's 'storm of the century'

BA flight aborts landing at Heathrow during Storm Ciara

A British Airways flight made a heart-stopping 'touch and go' landing attempt during Storm Ciara.

Onlookers were amazed to watch a British Airways flight abort a rocky landing on Sunday at London's Heathrow airport during high winds of Storm Ciara.
Footage caught by Big Jet TV shows a Boeing 777 pass overhead before wobbling and bouncing as its wheels touch the ground - but is then forced to take off again in what was described as a "touch and go" attempt.
The UK braced itself to be buffeted by gusts forecast to be up to 60 mph over the weekend, which caused massive disruption to air, rail and road transport networks.
More than 20 missed landings have been reported from the high-volume London airport during the storm.
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A jet was forced to make a rare "touch and go" landing during high winds at Heathrow Airport on Sunday during winds caused by a storm dubbed by some commentators the "storm of the century."

The landing attempt, which was captured on camera by aviation livestreaming channel Big Jet TV, shows a plane identified by the channel as a Boeing 777 making a heart-stopping attempt to land at the London airport.

In the footage, the aircraft passes overhead on its descent, wheels down, and tipping from side to side in the air before the tires make extremely bumpy contact with the runway.

Although the landing seems complete, the plane looks slightly askew on the runway, and continues forward before taking off again.

"Let's applaud the pilots and crew who do such an incredible job in all conditions!" commented the Twitter account of Big Jet TV.

It is not the only flight that had to abort its landing at Heathrow during Storm Ciara on Sunday, which was forecast to have inland winds of up to 60mph.

However "go-arounds" - where the landing is aborted before the wheels touch the ground - were more common.

A 2017 report by Heathrow Airport notes that missed landings or "go-arounds" are a "well-practiced and safe procedure which pilots and air traffic controllers are trained and prepared for."

The most common reason for such landings is that previous aircraft have not yet vacated the runway.

In 2017, there were 582 go-arounds at the airport, but Big Jet TV stated there were at least 20 just on Sunday amid the tough weather conditions.

The UK has been under storm alert since Friday, when the Met Office issued an amber - mid level - warning for heavy rain and widespread gales across much of England and Wales. The impact of the storm, dubbed Storm Ciara, has been felt across all transport networks.

Network Rail, the central body for the UK's rail network, told passengers on Friday not to travel by train on Sunday unless it was "absolutely necessary."

British Airways said in a statement: "Like all airlines operating into and out of the UK ... we are expecting to be impacted by the adverse weather conditions across parts of the UK."