A planeful of people headed down to Kingston, Jamaica for the holidays got the shock of their lives last night when their flight, American Airlines 331 from Miami, overshot the runway during a horrible rainstorm. The plane bounced on the runway, crashed through the fence at the end of the tarmac, skidded across the roadway and lost some landing gear and at least one of its engines before coming to rest on the beach, just short of the ocean.

All 154 passengers and crew survived, but some 91 injuries have been reported, including broken bones and more minor scratches. Since this was technically a crash, the airport closed and other Kingston-bound flights were diverted to other Jamaica airports.

This incident, and the general scary island-y nature of Kingston's Norman Manley airport and its one sea-bordered runway adds it to our ever-growing list of the World's Most Dangerous Airports. To check out a picture of the American Airlines accident, head here.

Related Stories:
· American Airlines Flight Narrowly Avoids Sea on Landing In Jamaica; Injuries Reported [NPR]
· Light injuries as plane overshoots runway [National Post]
· Travel Accidents [Jaunted]

[Image: Google Maps]]]> JetSetCD 2009-12-23T09:04:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/12/3/165950/343

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

Thanks to a reader tip, we zoomed our Google Maps eyes down on the tiny Cane Field Airport (DCF) on Dominica, an island in the Caribbean between Guadeloupe and Martinique. Because of the mountainous terrain of the island, the runway was constructed directly alongside the beach. That might sound picturesque, but with crosswinds threatening to dump you in the drink, in addition to a steep approach, it gets to be quite harrowing.

Now, Cane Field is one of two airports on this small island, the other being Melville Hall. However Cane Field is the smaller of the two, mainly used for island hopping, private jets, and the like. With a runway only 3,100' long, it's easy to see why. You will catch the occasional American Airlines or LIAT planes landing at the nearby Melville Hall, but it's Cane Field that holds the most suspense for incoming flights.

Now add to this the fact that both airports on Dominica have no lights for nighttime flights, and the stakes are upped. Better hope that you're not landing on the island on an usually dark and stormy day!

Related Stories:
· Melville Hall Airport [Wikipedia]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Saint Barthélemy [Jaunted]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]

[Photo: Google Maps]]]> JetSetCD 2009-12-03T17:15:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/12/01259/950

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

The French island of Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean might be the winter playground of the rich and famous, but unless you arrive via private yacht or boat charter, all the gobs of money in the world can't save you from enduring the white-knuckled landing on the short airstrip at St. Barth's Gustaf III/St. Jean Airport (SBH).

The concrete runway begins at the base of slight hill, and goes for only 2,100 feet before landing right on St. Jean's beach and the harbor of the island's second largest town. Sunbathers can totally lie out right next to the sand strip at the end of the runway, this it's a hugely popular plane spotting destination for those who enjoy small, prop planes. You see, because of the itty-bitty airport and runway size, major flights must land at the neighboring island of St. Maarten, where they have a big, modern airport. From there, the Barths-bound folks either jump aboard a ferry or hop a WINAIR, Air Caraïbes, and St-Barth Commuter flight in planes usually holding twenty or less passengers.

An airplane crashes, after the jump.]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-12T10:35:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/18/94135/5087

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

Forget roller coasters. We get our kicks on scary-as-hell runways. So we're about ready to schedule a trip to the South Pacific after tipster Paul Sloan of Tahiti Expeditions sent along word of Gizo Airport (GZO) in the Solomon Islands. Is it us, or does this runway look like it just shouldn't work? Apparently it does!

For the record, there are several dozen other airports scattered throughout the Solomon Islands, including the comparatively giant Honiara International Airport, where you can even catch a flight on Virgin Blue.

Needless to say, if you're Soloman Islands-bound and not to Honiara, you'll needs to board a tiny Solomon Airlines jet to reach this little beaut of a runway. Nailbiting landing are part of the exotic fun, don't you know.

Related Stories:
· At Least The Juana Azurduy Airport Has a Paved Runway [Jaunted]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]
· Island Travel: Budget Airlines Hit Solomon Islands [Jaunted]

[Photo: TravelPod] ]]> BS 2009-05-18T10:02:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/13/125925/257

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

It's been a while since we updated our World's Most Dangerous Airports list but thanks to a Jaunted tipster, we have learned of yet another scary airport to seek out/avoid. It's Juana Azurduy (SRE) in Sucre, Bolivia.

I flew in once (this was 1993, I spent a summer in that part of the world). It's like a lot of other airports - hot and high (about 9000 feet above MSL), in a natural bowl of mountains. The really nasty trick is that just at the end of the runway there is a small hill: incoming aircraft descend, then have to pull up sharply, then drop again to hit the end of the runway.

What makes matters worse is that there is no taxiway, so having gone past the terminal building the aircraft apparently starts to leave the runway altogether to the right before making a turn in its own length and taxiing back up to the terminal. Very unnerving if you haven't done it before!

You can see a great shot of the airport here on Airliners.net. On the bright side, the airport's runway is paved--something that you don't always get in this part of the world. And while the landing can be freaky, the airport is only open from sunrise to sunset so there can be no attempts to maneuver the descent in the dark. Phew!

Related Stories:
· Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport [Wikipedia]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]

[Photo: tesking]]]> juliana 2009-05-13T13:46:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/3/224633/1133

Has that pesky little Iraq war been upsetting your Middle East travel plans? If British airline BMI has any say in the matter of increasing air passenger traffic to the good old Baghdad International, then your dreams of family reunions in Fallujah and spa weekends in Basra may not be pipe dreams much longer.

Thanks to a rousing meeting last week between Iraqi officials and UK businesses, British investment in the rebuilding country is looking imminent, and maverick companies will need an airline to shuttle them back and forth between deals in London and Baghdad. The Financial Times breaks the news that BMI is not only considering operating flights between the two capitals, making it the first to successfully re-connect the Isles to Iraq in almost twenty years, but that it would like to do so as early as next spring. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-05-04T10:16:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/10/75348/992

Don't say we didn't warn you: We did. On October 8, a plane crashed for the second time since 2005 at the tiny airport near Mt. Everest, killing 18.

The 19-seat Yeti Airlines plane had nearly completed its flight from Katmandu when it snagged its wheels on a security fence at Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal about 40 miles from Mount Everest Base Camp. Two Australians, two Nepalese and 12 tourists from Germany on a Hauser Exkursionen tour died. Only the pilot survived.]]> ced138 2008-10-10T10:30:42-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/