This is the moment a pilot executes an extraordinary horizontal landing of a Ryanair jet amid heavy winds. In the online footage taken by two plane enthusiasts, the commercial 737 jet can be seen landing at a tilted angle at Madeira Airport in Portugal with powerful winds knocking the aircraft from side to side as it draws closer to the tarmac.
The jet emerges from over the sea and veers to the right over the land before positioning its wings downwards as the pilot aligns the plane with the runway to perform the landing, the Mirror reports. However, the nose of the aircraft is forcibly pushed to the left of the tarmac with its wheels in a 45 degree angle position as it's hit by a strong gust of wind.
At this moment, the composed pilot efficiently controls the aircraft and pulls the aircraft to the right, holing it slightly above ground. The plane suddenly dips down and makes contact with the runway, with a small puff of dust billowing up behind it.
The footage was captured by the plane fanatics at Madeira Aviation, who film approaches to a landing strip which is often disrupted by strong swirling winds that come off the Atlantic and are whipped up by the cliffs. In the comments a man with the username Adam Uppsala identifies himself as the person responsible for landing the plane back in May this year.
''I was the pilot of this flight," he claimed. "I'm very surprised someone was filming the touch down. Thank you very much for all your kind comments - they mean a lot. See you on board soon!"
One person replied: "I was a passenger on that flight that day! It was quite a scary landing, felt relieved to be on the ground, although the landing was really hard. My pilot did a great job!"
Earlier this year Wizz Air found itself in a similar spotlight when members of the public who had gathered to watch jets touch down on the Greek island of Skiathos got slightly more than they bargained for. Bystanders felt as if they almost had their hair shaved by an Airbus A321neo as it made an incredibly low landing.
Video of the incident shows the plane approaching over the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean as boats bob peacefully below. The nearer the Wizz Air jet gets, the clearer it becomes that the plane is attempting to make a touchdown moments after clearing the perimeter fence at the Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport.
The roar of the jet engines masks the yelps of aviation buffs below as the plane comes within a few metres of their heads as it rockets over.
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