[imagesource: YouTube /Eli van W]

Watching a plane come in to land at the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba Island will put you on the edge of your seat.

As the world’s shortest runway, pilots are presented with a unique and exhilarating challenge when landing. Not only do they have to navigate the 400-metre stretch of tar before the runway drops straight off a cliff into the ocean below, but the area is often beset with unpredictable weather conditions that make landing all that more dangerous.

It is no doubt quite an exhilarating but risky manoeuvre for anyone who tries to land on the world’s shortest runway.

You might want to fasten your seatbelts for this one:

Pilots have to ensure their landing and takeoffs are precise and meticulously planned, otherwise, they can easily under or overshoot the runway and end up in the sea or crash on the rocky cliffs.

To make matters more complicated, the Island is known for its unpredictable weather conditions and strong crosswinds, which makes landing a real plight.

The pilots must carefully calculate speed, altitude, and descent rate to ensure a safe touchdown on the limited runway space available.

As you can well understand, small propeller aircraft are the only planes that can land on the world’s shortest runway, with the most common aircraft to land there being the Twin Otter and BN-2 Islander. But even these aircraft can’t come to an instant halt like a fighter jet.

Despite the challenges, landing on the world’s short runway is a testament to the skill and expertise of pilots around the world.

Funny enough, despite being home to the world’s shortest runway, the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba Island is just one of the most dangerous airports to land at.

[source:supercarblondie]