![]() “My father gave permission to clear out the land, and he must have figured that if the attempt didn’t succeed, at least all the rocks would be gone,” he says.Ī former island commissioner, senator and publisher of the Saba Herald newspaper for 25 years, Johnson’s knowledge of the island is encyclopaedic. Saban historian Will Johnson’s father used to farm Flat Point on ground owned by his grandfather. Many nearby islands already had airstrips built during World War II, but Saba’s steep sides and lack of flat ground were considered unsuitable.īut de Haenen challenged the idea, surveying the topography and eventually identifying the aptly named Flat Point as the most promising site for his attempt to pilot the first flight into Saba. The first pilot to land on Saba must have had an even more exciting experience.Īmbitious aviator Rémy de Haenen from the neighboring island of St Barthélemy made the island’s first landing in 1959. Passengers on the left look straight down into the water.Īs the plane levels out for final approach the wing practically skims the hillside, but the aircraft comes in low and smooth and touches down with a squeak of rubber, a huge blast of reverse thrust, and a short taxi to the very end of the runway where those who still have their eyes open can peer down into the water below. Passengers on the right-hand side have close-up views of the sea cliffs. It’s incredibly beautiful but also lump-in-the-throat stuff, and there’s a moment when it feels as if you’re heading straight for the volcanic slopes.īut at the very last minute, the plane makes a sharp bank to the left in the direction of the runway which, until this point, has been invisible. There’s constant activity in the cockpit, flicking of switches and twisting of knobs and dials, with both pilots working in perfect coordination.Īs the miles quickly fall away, the island looms closer and closer. After takeoff, flight WM441 flies in a straight line towards Saba, the island’s silhouette visible on the horizon just 24 miles away. ![]() Sint Maarten’s green mountains, golden beaches and turquoise waters make for a scenic departure, but there’s not much time to sit back and enjoy the views. With no door separating the cockpit from the cabin, it’s like sitting between the Captain and the First Officer. There’s no assigned seating so aviation fans looking for a pilot’s eye view should squeeze in first to nab the hot seat – 1B – right at the front in the middle. In spite of the impending excitement, boarding at Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport is a fairly relaxed affair. You could take the ferry to get here, but the flight often appears in lists of the “world’s scariest landings,” and that seems reason enough to give it a try.īut is it really as hair-raising as it’s made out to be? The runway appears on one of Saba’s postage stamps, and the souvenir shop in the village of Windwardside sells T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, “I survived the Saba landing!” Yrausquin Airport is something of a holy grail for avgeeks, but it is also a lifeline for Saba, bringing in tourists and taking out locals in need of medical attention. Sheer drops into the sea at either end add an extra layer of excitement to the arrival on what is acknowledged as being the shortest commercial runway in the world. ![]() With a strip of asphalt just 1,300 feet long (about 400 meters), only 900 feet of which are “usable,” the runway is not much longer than an aircraft carrier. Yrausquin Airport, clinging to Saba’s only bit of flat land, is proof that it can be done. The vertiginous slopes and sea cliffs of this five-square-mile island in the Caribbean don’t leave much space to land a plane. Flying into Saba isn’t for the faint hearted.
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