Video: Pilots land passenger plane weighing 5,73,794 kg sideways during storm in London
In a nail-biting event, the footage shows the incredible moment a pilot landed his passenger plane sideways at Heathrow airport, after battling fierce 91mph winds caused by Storm Dennis. The world's largest passenger plane weighing 5,73,794 kg being landed sideways by pilots, after contending with powerful headwinds brought by Storm Dennis.
Video shows the pilot's skilful manoeuvre, as the Etihad Airbus A380 aircraft hovered sideways over the runway before successfully landing on Saturday, a report in British media said on Sunday.
In the video, Etihad pilots are seen braving the stubborn winds as the massive aircraft gingerly descends upon the runway. The pilots pulled off a rather classy sideways steer.
The incident came as hundreds of flights into and out of the UK were grounded on Saturday because of Storm Dennis, with easyJet cancelling more than 230 flights.
The storm, the second to hit the UK in as many weeks, has unleashed strong winds and heavy rain over the weekend.
In some parts of the UK, more than a month's rain has fallen in just two days, causing the Environment Agency (EA) to issue a record number of flood warnings and alerts for England.
John Curtin, the EA's Flood and Coastal Risk Management Executive Director, said on Sunday that the 594 warnings and alerts in place were a record.
Parts of Wales saw more than a month's rainfall in 48 hours from Friday to Sunday morning.
The Met Office said that 156.2mm of rain had fallen over this period at Crai Reservoir in Powys, Wales, well above Wales' average monthly rainfall of 111.1mm in February.
The village of Nantgarw, Rhondda Cynon Taff, near Cardiff, is among the worst effected in the UK.
Mason said the weather was "unprecedented," adding he had "never experienced anything like this before."
Georgie Timmins, crisis response officer at the British Red Cross, said: "The storms are expected to continue, and water is anticipated to be at peak levels on Monday and Tuesday. It is important people are ready should the worst happen."
