We
had photos of Maho Beach, located on the coast of St. Maarten in the
Netherlands Antilles. But this post is not just about planes, but about
the people who were on the beach at the wrong time. This beach is famous
because it is located very close to the airport. 11 more images after the break...
Maho
Beach is a beach on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint
Martin, in the country of Sint Maarten. It is famous for the Princess
Juliana International Airport adjacent to the beach. Arriving aircraft
must touch down as close as possible to the beginning of runway 10 due
to the short runway length of 2,180 metres/7,152 ft, resulting in
aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at minimal
altitude. wiki
Due
to the unique proximity of low flying airliners, the location is very
popular with plane spotters. This is one of the few places in the world
where aircraft can be viewed in their flightpath just outside the end of
the runway. 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 the
Sunset Beach Bar and Grill has a speaker on its outside deck that
broadcasts the radio transmissions between pilots and the airport's
control tower. wiki
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 irresponsible tourists
from hanging on to the main fence surrounding the runway to be blasted
by the jet flow. wiki
The
beach itself is white sand and has little or no vegetation because of
jet blast erosion[Citation needed]. The Caravanserai Resort, the popular
Sunset Beach Bar and other restaurants/night clubs such as Bamboo
Bernies and Bliss are located nearby. The beach is popular with
windsurfers and skimboarders because of occasional large waves. On
October 16, 2008, the Maho area of St. Maarten was badly damaged by
Hurricane Omar, which destroyed the Sunset Bar and Grill as well as
Bamboo Bernies and Bliss. As of November 2009, Sunset Beach Bar and
Grill and Bliss have both re-opened. Omar reduced the beach to boulders,
and damaged the nearby Royal Islander Club La Plage which re-opened
February 14, 2009.
Runway 10/28
was originally runway 09/27 but was changed on November 1, 2008 as a
result of geomagnetic alterations since the original construction. wiki
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