Landing at Toncontin International Airport
I spend quite a bit of time on YouTube. What can I say… the videos are great. Granted, there are many stupid videos on YouTube; however, when you stumble upon videos such as one of an American Airlines Boeing 757 landing at Toncontin International Airport, it kind of makes the process of searching and sifting through the garbage of trashy videos worth the effort.
Photo by William L.B.J Dekker.
The Toncontin International Airport is a crazy airport. According to Wikipedia, Ryan Bert who wrote an article about the airport in 2001 on Airliners.net and photographer named William L.B.J Dekker, the Toncontin International Airport has one of the smallest runways in the world. To make matters worse, the airport is located on a plateau within the city of Comayaguela which is orientated between tall mountains. But wait, it gets even better! The runway itself is only 6132 feet long; however, it has a “displaced threshold” leaving only 5,436 feet of actual useable landing length. Oh but wait… it gets even better! In addition to the extremely short length, it also has a slight downhill slope making it even more difficult to land and stop. Could things possibly get any worse? Yes! Here is the final stab in the heart! 100 feet past the end of the runway is a cliff. If an airplane can’t stop in time, it will plummet down the dreadful cliff and crash. That is of course, if the planes doesn’t crash into traffic traveling on a street that is separated by a rickety and old 4 foot fence.
Over the years, several airplanes have crashed or have had major problems landing at Toncontin International Airport such as the TAN Boeing 727-200 (N88705) that crashed into the Cerro De Hule mountain in 1989. The mountain is commonly called “Rubber Hill”. The crash was fatal, killing 123 of the 138 passengers on board and killing 4 of the crew members.
TAN Boeing 727-200 Crashes Killing 123 In 1989
“The Boeing 727 had drifted from its VOR/DME to Runway 01. It crashed into Cerro de Hule (Translated into “rubber hill”) some 5,000 ft (1524 m) from the runway. This crashed killed 123 of the 138 passengers on board and half of the 8-member crew.”
- Ryan Bert
Passengers experience a lot of fear of landing at the Toncontin International Airport. Traffic lights have been installed and stop traffic when a commercial jet liner lands or takes off. There have been incidents in the past where an airplane made contact with the fence that separates the road from the runway as well as an airplane that hit a passenger bus.
“I am Honduran, and I gotta say that landing at Toncontin is almost suicidal. I’ve witnessed horrible landings even from major airlines. Some planes have tried even twice to land. That’s why they are building the one in Comayaguela. I love Honduras though!
Landing an airplane at the Toncontin International Airport is definitely a challenge. As challenging this may be for pilots, such as American Airlines Boeing 757 pilots, it may very well be more astonishing to watch from the ground. The Toncontin International Airport seems to have gained the interest of many aviation enthusiasts, spotters and photographers. Below is an amazing video I found on YouTube of an American Airlines Boeing 757 on final approach and landing at the Toncontin International Airport.
American Airlines Boeing 757 At Toncontin Airport
“Even though Honduras “FAA”(aeronautical civil and the government)had blasted some of the hillside nearby the approach stills a steep one and pilots of large planes “must” touch down the “zona de impacto” white lines or simply putting it, or else, it’s like landing onto an aircraft carrier…remember it is the shortest international runway around…but it’s fun landing in it……”
Have you ever landed at Toncontin International Airport as either the pilot or passenger? All around the world, which airport do you think is the most challenging to land? I would love to hear from you.
Tags: Toncontin, YouTube Videos
Filed under: The Blurbs
7 Responses to “Landing at Toncontin International Airport”
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Airbus A320 Reverse Thrust Trend Says:
July 22nd, 2007 at 3:13 am[...] or history of the Airbus A320. However, as a columnist, when I write an article about the Toncontin International Airport and soon discover a little history about the airport, it doesn’t take me long to put 2 + [...]
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Rob Mark Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 10:01 pmThis is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. No wonder I don’t want to fly in South America any more. This runway must not be more than 5,000-or 5,500 feet from the way it looks. I can’t believe they bring a 757 in there.
This is really a site as we look back to the accident last week in Brazil.
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Garry Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 10:58 pmI know man! Wasn’t that cool to watch. I have to give it up to Boeing 757 pilots who land there. It’s amazing. In fact, I am told it used to be much worse. They have graded the hill side down over the years to make it easier to land. Formally, you would have to scale the mountainside and ascend the plane over the high “hump” and then descend down again. It’s nuts… I don’t think I would want to take that ride. I wouldn’t mind watching it though… here is another video from a spotter on the ground.
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Zowiewowie Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 pmI have flown into Toncontin many, many times..and everytime it is a thrill. Some American Airlines pilots will upon entering the downwind approach will lay the 757 on its side and then start jocking the engine thrust to maintain the airspeed at the same time attempt to lose altitude as to hit the treshold and go full trottle with reverse thrusters to cut the rollout..the pilots are the best in the world!
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Brian Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 amI’ve been there twice. The first time was on the AA 757 from Miami and the second time was on the Continental 737 from Houston. The 757 approach and landing was by far much more “interesting”. That big bird is just toooo big to be landing there. You feel much more motion and wobbling with every turn. On both planes it’s like circling the toilet bowl on approach. They drop, turn, and dip all the way to the runway. The 737 is definitely an easier ride. It’s just tighter and more stable. However, I remember when taking off on the 737 that they had to hit the gas while making the turn onto the runway. Definitely the most exciting airports to fly into. However, I prefer for the more scenic and mellow landing up north in San Pedro Sula! Northern Honduras much more exotic and beautiful than than dry, smoggy Tegoose.
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Nettie Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 pmEither way I love my country. Although after the May 30, 2008 Taca plane crash (which I was there for) I dont think that I will ever see Toncontin from a plane window again . . . Honduras is not in South America “Rob Mark” just so you know. Honduras is in Central America, so you shouldnt give up on OTHER wonderful nations in South America. I have been traveling to Honduras and arriving in Toncontin since I was 6 months old and I am now an adult. As far as what I think about Toncontin . . . of course I consider it dangerous. I have traveled all around the world and this is the only airport I have landed in and people clap when we land. It is not the most modern and there is truly no room for error. American Airlines takes its pilots there to take there final test, because basically if you can handel Toncontin you can handle any runway. A Boeing 757 is a large plane yet if the pilot executes the landing correctly then honestly there is enough room. I guess that is a third world country for you, and now I’m sure people will be talikng about Parmerola now which is what I think will be known as the next Toncontin.
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Tim Says:
June 19th, 2008 at 7:46 amI have been to Honduras 4 times in 2007. I can say that is one hell of a landing. If I did not have my nerve pills to assist it would have been allot harder for me. You can definitely tell the plain is not meant to land in such a way. When you touch down they slam on the brakes. Its quite unnerving. I remember the first flight in the lady sitting next to us had to use her barf bag and the landing was so aggressive that items actually came out of the overhead compartments. My third time in was not so bad the pilot really knew what he was doing. In fact all 4 times I believe they did a great job…..IM STILL HERE!!! Alive and kicking…
