I’ve seen some pretty cool landings and takeoffs at Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport, but this one has to be the best.
Airplanes normally takeoff towards the mountains and away from Maho Beach, in an easterly direction. Depending on the winds, however, planes sometimes depart to the west, over Maho Beach. When a takeoff occurs to the west, the plane usually lifts off well before the end of the runway so that it’s several hundred feet above the beach as it passes over (click here to see a “normal” westward takeoff).
Well, in this video the pilot stays very low during the initial liftoff, buzzing right over the beach, with a trajectory that remains quite a bit lower than normal once out over the water. It’s an awesome shot from the most exciting beach in the world!
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👀WOW!! What a takeoff from Sint Maarten! ✈️pic.twitter.com/2SmF89vFXp
— SXM Strong 🇸🇽🇫🇷💪 (@SXMStrong) September 17, 2018
