Captain Steve Freeman and First Officer Ajit Sindhu were in charge of an easyJet flight from Newcastle to Belfast when the tail-end of Storm Freya threatened their landing into Northern Ireland. Footage shows the moment the experienced duo were faced with making the decision of whether it was safe to land or not. However, Mr Freeman, who is a veteran pilot of the airline, decided he could use a technique known as “crabbing” to safely bring the jet down.
The tense moments were shown last month during ITV’s “easyJet: Inside the Cockpit”, where the narrator explained their predicament.
He said: “The safe limit for a captain to land is 43mph, which means Steve can still choose to go ahead, as long as the winds don’t get any worse.
“Landing in crosswinds at Belfast will require a technique called crabbing – flying sideways towards the runway with the nose of the plane pointed into the wind and then straightening up just before touchdown.
“The final 100 feet of the descent requires all of the pilot’s skill to hold the Airbus steady as it is buffeted by gusts of winds.
The easyJet plane tackled high winds (Image: GETTY/ITV)
The pair in the cockpit kept cool heads (Image: ITV)
When you get 30 knots and it’s gusting, that can cause the upset and it’s more challenging the higher the crosswind
