Kai Tak used to be called Hong Kong International Airport
Anyone that has traveled by air would agree that landing is the most nerve wracking part of the flight. It's the turbulence, the strange noises the plane makes, and the sometimes uneven touchdown on the runway. Some airports are notoriously bad to land at and I’m sure you have been on a rough landing at one point or another. If you haven’t, don’t go. Drive instead. It has to do with prevailing weather and airport design but it doesn’t make it less scary.
One of the worst was the approach to Hong Kong International Airport, renamed Kai Tak before it closed. There was one runway. If you landed during the night, you would come in off the ocean...no problem. But if you landed during the day...well, that was a different story.
Thanks to Edward Wong for this great shot of Runway 13. The Quantas pilot turned hard and early for this angle.
Kai Tak was constructed during the British occupation of Hong Kong in 1925. There was limited space to build an International Airport and Airline Hub for Cathay Pacific so, the airport was constructed in Kowloon. Kai Tak was located on the west side of Kowloon Bay in Kowloon and the area surrounding it was made up of rugged mountains and lots of buildings. Less than 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north and northeast is a range of hills reaching an elevation of 2,000 ft (610 m). To the east of the runway, the hills were less than 5 km (3.1 mi) away. Immediately to the south of the airport was Victoria Harbor, and farther south was Hong Kong Island with hills up to 2,100 ft (640 m).
At the northern end of the runway, the buildings rose up to six stories and the other three sides of the runway were surrounded by Victoria Harbor. The low-altitude and low-speed maneuver required the pilot to make a hard right turn to line up with the runway. The moisture laden warm air would cause airflow disruptions over the wings and even the biggest jetliners would lurch and bounce as it descended.
There was always (4 times total) an old lady on one of the rooftops waving at planes. She drank Pepsi. I knew for a fact.
Growing up overseas, we would fly back to the US via either the Asian route or the European route. When we flew through Asia, we always landed in Hong Kong. In 1986, we arrived in Hong Kong around mid-day and this meant we were approaching from the mountain side. As mentioned earlier, the approach from the mountain side is extremely difficult and was rated as the 6th most dangerous approach in history. The pilot had to fly directly at the mountains as the plane descended over Kowloon Bay right toward a HUGE red and white striped square bolted onto the mountain.
In the background is the checkerboard the pilots had to line up on. The arrow (not visible) was removed in the 90s.
Underneath the square was an arrow pointing to the right. The airport, at that point was to the front right of the airplane. As the plane approached the pilot executed a hard right turn. If all went well, the wheels would touchdown just as the pilot brought the plane level from the turn. If things went badly, the pilot either executed a missed approach/go around or this…
This China Air 747-400 ended up in the drink after a less than perfect approach in heavy weather. No one was killed.
That first time, I didn’t know any of this. I had flown a lot but this was a first for me. The first time I had ever been on a mountain side approach and also the first time sitting on the right side of the airplane. I was staring intently out the window, as was my custom, watching the flaps and ailerons in action. Watching the wing bend and flex as the plane descended through turbulent warm air was hypnotic. I noticed the buildings were getting pretty close and my pucker factor was growing. I started getting nervous and I was convinced something was wrong. I warned my Dad that the pilots were not on the correct approach to the airport. He grinned and told me to keep watching and that all was well. I turned my attention back to the window. After a second or two, the aileron rotated all the way up and the spoilers followed suit. Our huge 747 rolled relatively hard, to about 45 degrees. My eyes followed the lines of the wing out past the wing pitot tube. I saw a rooftops of buildings moving rapidly past and on one particular rooftop. I saw an old lady sitting in her chair, with a bottle of Pepsi (I could tell because I could see the label colors!!). She was looking up, seemingly, right into my eyes. She gave a soft smile and an infirm wave.
I felt the blood drain from my body and I started shrieking!! My dad was giggling and trying to soothe me at the same time. I was inconsolable. I apologized for every wrong deed I had done in my short life and promised to be a good boy. I even assumed the crash position. As soon as I got into the crash position, I heard the engines throttle back, the plane level out, and the lurch of the plane's main gear touching down. I snapped upright and looked out the window. We were safely on the runway at Hong Kong International. The flight attendant spoke over the PA in a completely calm and natural voice that we had arrived and told us the local time. Tears clinging to my cheeks and my chest heaving from fear, I looked back at my dad.
“It’s always scary the first time,” he said smiling.
That was a harrowing experience for a young lad like myself and I can laugh about it now. But at the time, it was no laughing matter.