"FINAL APPROACH"--NOT FOR ROOKIES

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - "A Salvadoran passenger plane skidded off a rain-soaked runway on landing at Tegucigalpa airport in Honduras on Friday, killing five people and injuring 38 as it veered onto a road and smashed into cars and a building." Continue reading.

I loaded this airport into my flight sim with a Boeing 737. Clear weather, no wind, daytime, same approach with short final. In these perfect conditions, I had to perform a "go-around" as I was long on touch down. Second approach I thought I was ok, but it's clear you must hit close to the numbers, otherwise you're out of luck. I was on the brakes and reversers all the way--no one was injured, just shook up. I can't imagine how difficult this is for a pilot at night, or anytime in less-than-ideal conditions with these terrain issues.

Videos below show how treacherous this approach is. Listen to the pilot's comment in the second one--near the end.



Cockpit view: