Airbus A319 Cockpit View of Two Female Pilots Landing at World's Most Dangerous Airport, Paro Bhutan

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

[Think. Again.]

1. I wonder why...

...someone felt it was necessary to identify the pilots as females.

[NoRethugFriends]

2. think again

[Think. Again.]

3. OH! Now I see,....

Because someone thinks it's extraordinary that women could do skilled work.

Of course. Silly me.

[paleotn]

5. Someone? Try 1/3 of the damn country.

[sunflowerseed]

29. How can they do that??? Don't their boobs get in the way?

[Think. Again.]

39. I know right?!?

Ya can't fly a plane without a joystick!

[Renew Deal]

4. Only 4-6% of airline pilots are female

https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/women-airline-pilots-numbers-are-growing-but-still-a-pitiful-percentage-655755

Maybe this video inspires people to become pilots. And maybe the response shows people how to deal with hate in the world.

[paleotn]

6. This!

[Think. Again.]

8. Making it seem like it's a far-fetched, surprising idea that women can fly planes well...

....isn't going to help those numbers.

[Renew Deal]

11. Thanks for letting us know

[Callie1979]

17. I know! I see a plane landed by 2 pilots.

I fly many times a year; I've never looked up & thought "Oh, we've got a WOMAN today!"
I just want them to be SOBER

[valleyrogue]

45. These two women might be the only two women in the entire world

who are certified to land at this airport, one of the most dangerous in the world.

Piloting is still a heavily male-dominated field. That is why it is pointed out.

[Renew Deal]

7. Landing at this airport is pretty crazy

You have to fly into the mountains without being able to see the runway.

[hlthe2b]

10. That definitely requires finesse. Those beautiful homes hugging the mountain tops may have

wonderful views, but I might think twice about being under the path. It would be so easy for something to go wrong.

[peacebuzzard]

16. exactly!

[Cheezoholic]

36. You also need to be certified to use that airport. Not just any airline pilot can go their! n/t

[peacebuzzard]

9. No way this airport has landing with low visibility/instrument requirements necessary.

It must be a perfect day in other words.
It's not a good sign to see the copilot praying b4 landing either
P.S. On edit: 2nd video shows a hard-core, hard right b4 the final touchdown. Wow.

[paleotn]

13. Ha!!! Absolutely not!!

Love that miniscule room for error just short of the runway. Jebus!!!!

[Delphinus]

14. Thank you!

I was coming here to say something similar!

[hlthe2b]

15. I saw the co-pilot doing that and it almost looked like she crossed herself ('kind of doubt she

is Catholic, but I'm sure the gesture is similar). But, yes, it certainly seemed like she did a little prayer.

I'm no pilot but it does seem like ground control was giving directions at every single opportunity. Undoubtedly necessary. I wonder what the unfortunate incident history is there.

[peacebuzzard]

18. that is not a Catholic sign of the cross but it certainly seemed Like a religious ritual.

I bet they have dedicated pilots for that route.

[hlthe2b]

20. I SAID it "kinda looked like she crossed herself" Are we going to get into a religious discussion now?

REALLY? I also said it was highly doubtful she was Catholic. Geez. I was agreeing with YOU.

[Bo Zarts]

31. At 1:37 the first officer (co-pilot) did a series of prayer gestures.

It looked like the Buddhist "Wah" gesture with the hands.

[miyazaki]

34. probably a sacred temple underneath / nearby

and her acknowledgment.

[paleotn]

12. Nice thread the needle.

That was fun! And who says women can't drive.

Notice something different about the A319's controls? No yoke. The funny steering wheel like thing most folks are use to in front of pilot and copilot. Airbus is all sidestick now. A kind of joy stick on the pilot's left side, copilot's right. Throttles in the middle. Boeing is sticking with the old fashioned yoke for now. Significant debate over which is better. Both sides make good points.

[hlthe2b]

19. Important to know: Only around 50 pilots globally are certified to land here (Times of India)

Paro International Airport in Bhutan is known for its challenging approach through 18,000-foot mountains. Only around 50 pilots globally are certified to land here due to its small runway and lack of radar assistance.

15,000-foot mountains TOO, I might add!

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/why-are-only-50-pilots-certified-to-land-on-this-challenging-airport-know-reasons/articleshow/113694872.cms#:~:text=Paro%20International%20Airport%20in%20Bhutan,and%20lack%20of%20radar%20assistance.

[eppur_se_muova]

42. LACK OF RADAR ?? Shouldn't someone be thinking of fixing that sometime soon ?

Or does the geography render radar somehow less effective ? I can sort of imagine lots of problems with multiple reflections, but I would think modern radars could handle that ...

[hlthe2b]

43. Watching the topography/terrain in those videos, I'd wonder how useful radar would be

But, I also notice that ground control literally "walks" the pilots through every moment of their traverse over and around those mountains where, at one point, they don't seem to even be able to visualize the runway.

And, if you read the article the unexpected weather, fog, ice, hail, windshear, microbursts, etc. etc. that can come up so quickly in the area, requiring all landings to occur in the morning and in clear conditions at the start. Not my area of expertise by any means and nor will it be. But I can appreciate what it takes to land there. Yikes!

[Callie1979]

21. Wonder how many hours you need before the airline will LET you land here?

[ShazzieB]

44. Only 50 pilots in the whole world are certified to land there so it must be a lot!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/113914625#post19

[twodogsbarking]

22. Go ladies. My doc is female. I have no question about women's abilities. Never have.

[Ocelot II]

23. Two female women actually landed an airplane! What next?

Are they letting us be pilots now? How extraordinary that a couple of ladies were allowed to do this!

[Think. Again.]

25. I agree, the title makes it seem the amazing part of that landing is that it was done by women.

Shocking I tell you, shocking!

Who knew women had hand/eye coordination!

[NewLarry]

41. They just did it between coffee services!

[valleyrogue]

46. It is WHERE it is and the fact only 50 pilots in the entire world are allowed to land there. n/t

[tornado34jh]

24. Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal is no easy one either

It's a single runway and there is low success rate of a go-around because of the terrain. There is also the Princess Juliana Airport in Saint Maarten in the Caribbean, known for being just above beachgoers heads. There is one in Madiera where there are cliffs and ocean and it is turbulent at times, and that is just to name a few. I think for these kinds of airports, and I'm not a pilot, you have to get special training beyond what you would normally get to be allowed to fly to these places.

[Lucky Luciano]

26. Bhutan is on my bucket list big time.

[Bluetus]

27. Dumb question, where are the yokes?

It looks like they retract into the console, but I'd think the first officer would want the yoke at the ready. Maybe the Captain was using her yoke, just slightly out of view of the camera.

[Ocelot II]

30. It's an Airbus. They don't have yokes; there's a side-stick

for manual control on each side, right under the side window. The airplane is highly automated and most of the time it's controlled by the autopilot, based on a course loaded into the flight control computer. The direction and altitude can be changed using the dials along the top of the instrument panel (you can see the first officer changing these settings in the video). Most of the time the pilots don't use the side-stick, but a tricky approach like that one would have to be flown manually.

[Bluetus]

37. Thanks, I think

I don't know if that makes me feel any safer, making that approach into Paru.

And take-off is no picnic either. They have to circle over the runway to gain enough altitude to get over the mountains.

[Faux pas]

28. Yikes!

[LilElf70]

32. It don't get any better than that

Very nice.

[Historic NY]

33. The quick prayer of the copilot

[NBachers]

35. Great! Now they've gotta get outta there

[Devilsun]

38. As the Great Stuart Scott would've said

"Cooler than the other side of the pillow"

[rubbersole]

40. Today - flying big jets...soon - getting credit cards without a male cosigner.