Extreme plane spotting at Maho Beach St Martin

And no...it's not photo shopped before anyone says it is !!!!

Located on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin (i.e., Sint Maarten) is the famous Maho Beach. While it has the characteristic white sand and turquoise water of a Caribbean paradise that is not what makes Maho Beach such a popular tourist destination.

Rather, it has much to do with the Princess Juliana International Airport directly adjacent to Maho.

Arriving aircraft must touch down as close as possible to the beginning of Runway 10 due to the short runway length of 2,180 meters (7,150 ft), resulting in aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at minimal altitude.

Watching airliners pass over the beach is such a popular activity that daily arrivals and departures airline timetables are displayed on a board in most bars and restaurants on the beach, and one bar even has a speaker on its outside deck that broadcasts the radio transmissions between pilots and the airport’s control tower.

It’s important to note there is a danger of people standing on the beach being blown into the water because of the jet blast from aircraft taking off from runway 10. The local government warns that closely approaching and departing aircraft can “result in serious injury and/or death”. An additional fence has been added recently behind runway 10 to prevent people from hanging on to the main fence surrounding the runway in order to experience being blasted by the jet flow.

Hey bwana @ smano. The plane i bet is a boeing 747. Ain't a 2.1km runway too small for this plane especially when it is carrying passengers???

I googled this and wow its real!

http://youtu.be/SCIJ0F62og4

And some tourists have been blown away by the jet engine blasts.

http://youtu.be/LV28AL0k1kY

I wouldn't know @segemia...was only reporting. The youtube videos seem real

Smano, I watched this on I think Discovery as part of a documentary called 10 extreme airports. It must be on Youtube. You should see the clowns hanging onto the fence at the start of the runaway to be blown away by the jet engines thrust. The other 9 are equally interesting especially the old Hongkong airport before they flattened islands to build a bigger one. A plane would navigate so low in the middle of town, avoiding buildings and all in order to land. My favorite is one in Gibraltar whose runway cuts through the main city's street so cars have to be stopped when planes are landing!!

Andrew Mbugua to Audrey Mbugua!!!!!! btw he/she looks nice.

Its all blacks.. You'll never see a black american on discovery channel. The only risks we take are 'skinny deeping'. Wonder what life means to us? Lots of children, MWK?

Thanks, will look out for it...sounds interesting and must be a pilot's wet dream!