Video: 747 Nose Gear Lifts Off Ground In Typhoon

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: August 11, 2015

15 comments

Typhoon Soudelor ripped through Taiwan over the weekend, causing dozens of deaths and bringing us some pretty shocking footage, like this one from a dash cam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BQ50ZZNi2E

So what impact can a typhoon have on a parked planes? Check out this footage of the nose gear of a China Airlines 747 being lifted off the ground due to the strength of the winds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piPoF-3ynZk

Given that a 747’s empty weight is about 400,000 pounds (about 200 tons), and maximum weight is about double that, it should really put into perspective how strong the winds are. Wow!

What a sad situation — my thoughts are with those who lost loved ones and have been misplaced by the typhoon.

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Chris_IOW Member

August 13, 2015, 3:45 am

The destruction caused by the typhoon is terrible and thoughts with all those affected. The 747 lifting up is just doing what it's designed to do...take of and fly so not really that remarkable. When I worked for a Biz Jet operator we often used to have to reposition our aircraft so that they weren't facing into the wind...and that was just for a UK winter storm.

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Fred Guest

August 13, 2015, 1:29 am

Then why the hell do you read it?

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Rodney Barry Guest

August 13, 2015, 12:36 am

The movement of aircraft on the ground during high winds is not new. Whenever conditions determined our C-47s were double tied at the tail and sandbags were placed along the chord line of the wings to reduce lift. Worked every time.

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Andre New Member

August 12, 2015, 9:27 pm

@Bongo - That's not very nice.. :(

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trust778 Guest

August 12, 2015, 6:00 pm

Don't forget that it passed directly over Saipan first before it continued into the Philippine Sea and grew into one mean typhoon this season. Miraculously, there was no loss of life in Saipan where infrastructure is not as up to code as Taiwan.

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