Now that's a bumpy landing!

This video clip shows a 19-passenger Czech-manufactured Let-410 Turbolet airliner, presumably in the service of the Russian airline Aeroflot (to judge by the paint scheme), trying to land somewhere in Russia. It's perhaps the worst landing I've ever seen that didn't result in flames and smoke erupting from the wreckage!

Even though there was no fire, the pilot managed to collapse at least the nosewheel, and perhaps the starboard main wheel as well, judging by the angle at which the plane came to rest.

This is almost as bad as the landing of an Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 strike aircraft that I put up here a couple of years ago. In case you missed it then, here it is again. The video is of rather poor quality, but if you'll excuse that, it's worth watching. The pilot makes a pass at the runway, but doesn't land. On his second pass, he slams it down willy-nilly, and porpoises down the runway until he smashes the undercarriage. Of course, this ruptures the fuel tanks, which catch fire. If you watch closely, you'll see the pilot and his Weapons Systems Operator eject safely from the burning wreckage as it skids down the runway.

You'll notice the plume of what looks like white smoke coming out of the back of the Su-24 as it comes in to land the second time. I think that's fuel being dumped, which would also account for the burning trail left down the runway after the crash. Why, precisely, the pilot chose to do that at so low an altitude, I really couldn't say . . . but then again, perhaps we don't really want to know! (Being Iranian, perhaps he was practicing for a future martyrdom?)





Peter