The human being has always pushed the envelope into and beyond the realms of danger. This is one in a continuing series of posts displaying how restless Man is with the mundane and how he purposely crosses the threshold into danger willingly — and sometimes unwillingly.

Officially termed the Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla is situated in eastern Nepal at 9,400 feet and features an approach that includes terrible weather, mountains, turbulence and no Plan B.  It is commonly referred to as the most dangerous airport in the world.

First, watch this video:

How’d you like to be the pilot making, first, that approach and then second, that extremely  short (1,509 feet long and 66 feet wide) landing uphill to the tune of 12-degrees?  In fact, no such thing as a “go-around” exists at Lukla because there is a dead end hill; the airport terminal and associated building are situated at the northern end of the runway.  Conversely, there is an abrupt 2,000-foot drop at the southern end.  You land uphill, and depart downhill.

Here is the approach to Lukla, shot from the interior of a Sita Air Dornier 228.  Start at 4:00 to get to the landing itself.

Lukla is an important airport because it is utilized by mountaineers seeking to travel to Mount Everest Base Camp in the Himilayas.

Here is a view of four takeoffs shot from the top of the hill.  This will give you a better understanding of the orientation of Lukla.  Watch carefully.  It appears none of the planes had more than a few feet of runway left before they took to the air.  An excellent panoramic photograph of the airport is here.

And Everest climbers thought the mountain would be the only challenge.

BZ