Footage was captured Friday in Washington of a plane aborting its landing and then taking off to resume its maneuver.
• Read more: [EN IMAGES] A deadly storm disrupted the Christmas weekend in the US
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Pilot and commander Dominique Toust explains, “For normal people it’s very interesting to see a plane turn like that, but for us, we practice over and over again in the simulator. It’s almost a normal maneuver”.
If the pilot feels he cannot reach the target on the runway, he goes for a simple climb, Mr. Toust explains.
“It’s math,” he says.
When the weather becomes difficult, additional fuel is scheduled accordingly, allowing the pilot to retry the landing.
Air delays: A snowball effect
The storm is still causing delays at several airports.
The worst conditions for the entire flight were not wind or snow, but a combination of the two, Mr. Toust explains.
“It’s unfortunate that it falls during the Christmas holidays,” he said.
“It will be difficult for airlines to recover from this. […] One delay begets another. This delay is difficult to catch even after the storm subsides.
According to Dominic Daoust, it can take up to a week to get back to normal.
