The world’s scariest airplane landing—or coolest, depending on who you ask—happens when KLM flies its Boeing 747 flight into St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport. For years, crowds have gathered on Maho Beach to watch the four-engine jumbo jet barely clear the sand before landing at the Caribbean airport.
But the times are a-changing, and the iconic 747 will no longer make this crazy landing following its final touchdown this morning. KLM flight 785 will start being operated by the much smaller (but still pretty impressive) Airbus 330 on October 30.
While this is the end of a regularly scheduled commercial 747 landing at the airport, watching any plane land there is still a pretty exciting experience—especially since much smaller planes like the Embraer 190 struggle to make it over the fence to the runway some days.
If you were dead set on watching the Boeing 747 land there, chartered 747 flights have been known to fly in and out of the airport, according to Boarding Area, so you haven’t missed out entirely on watching this incredible landing in person. But if you’d rather not subject yourself to the jet blast, just watch this video.
Popular Mechanics
Last scheduled 747 flight lands at Princess Juliana Intl.
