Legendary approaches
Twelve of the most famous landings in the world — over a beach, between mountains, past skyscrapers — replayed in 3D on real satellite imagery and terrain. Take the captain’s seat.
St Barts: the drop over the hill
Clear a ridge with a roundabout on top, dive for a runway barely 2,100 feet long and stop before the beach — one of the most famous landings in the world.
St Maarten: low over Maho Beach
The approach that made plane-spotting famous: a three-degree final that crosses Maho Beach moments before touchdown.
London City: the 5.5° dive past Canary Wharf
A glide path almost twice as steep as normal, between skyscrapers and the Thames — only specially approved aircraft may fly it.
Aspen: down the valley into the mountains
An airport at 7,820 feet in a narrow valley, with a wingspan limit that keeps some of the biggest private jets away.
Jackson Hole: landing in a national park
The only commercial airport inside a US national park, with the Teton Range filling the right-hand windows.
Innsbruck: threading the Inn Valley
An Alpine approach along a narrow valley between peaks higher than the aircraft — one of Europe’s most demanding.
Lugano: a steep drop over the lake
A short runway between lake and mountains, approached steeply from the south — crews need special training.
Teterboro: the private-jet gateway to Manhattan
An approach over the Meadowlands with the Manhattan skyline off the right wing — the business-aviation front door to New York.
Nice: along the Baie des Anges
A runway built out into the Mediterranean, approached over the sea with the Riviera on your left.
Cannes-Mandelieu: festival arrivals over the sea
A compact airport minutes from the Croisette, where the ramp fills with jets every May.
Rio Santos Dumont: around the Sugarloaf
A short downtown runway on Guanabara Bay, with Sugarloaf Mountain towering beside the approach.
Hong Kong: over the Pearl River estuary
A giant airport on reclaimed land, with Lantau Island’s peaks beside the approach and a dedicated business-aviation centre.
Simulations for curiosity, built from published runway coordinates. The paths are illustrative, not navigation procedures — real approaches depend on the aircraft, the weather, traffic and air-traffic control.
Imagery: NASA GIBS, with aerial photos from USGS, swisstopo, IGN and basemap.at where available · terrain © Mapterhorn (CC BY 4.0) · 3D aircraft models by Nick the Name and BlenderCommunityHead (CC BY 4.0) · 3D engine: CesiumJS.