AMAZING Night Approach to LaGuardia Airport

[Music] [Music] hello everyone and welcome back to my channel this is a video i made as a passenger of a recent approach to laguardia airport and this video is unlike others out there because i am going to provide a narrative explaining what's going on from here until landing the views of manhattan are going to be spectacular but how is this possible well the answer is here in this explanatory approach video the route we flew in the prior 30 minutes was one of the three major arrival routes to laguardia which guides planes towards new york city from different directions the specific route we flew is called the milton 4 arrival and is used for flights approaching laguardia from the west which is where we came from from over new jersey it brings us just south of new york city where we turn north around raritan bay then we fly near the verrazano bridge which we just passed we're now over staten island and looking at brooklyn from the window the body of water is upper new york bay since it's a beautiful evening with great visibility the approach controller who's situated in a control room in garden city new york has asked us to follow the hudson river northbound at 4 000 feet even though laguardia is not on the hudson we'll need to pass by laguardia to its west then continue several miles past the airport then turn back so we can line up with runway 2-2 and a simple way to have us get to that lineup point is to follow the hudson river northbound we could have also been told by the approach controller to pass by the east side of laguardia over brooklyn and queens to get to runway 2-2 but tonight the eastern airspace is being used for departing flights off of runway 1-3 so basically we're in luck in terms of getting an amazing manhattan view tonight and here comes downtown manhattan this is one of the most spectacular approaches in the world the approach controller is keeping us at 4 000 feet while over the hudson directly below us is a section of airspace used by private pilots to visually fly up and down the hudson river and our 4000 foot altitude keeps us clear of the flying targets below look at that view the river on the other side of manhattan is the east river which separates manhattan from brooklyn and queens we're now approaching the midtown section of manhattan and we can see the second skyscraper cluster on the island again it is an amazing view it's at this point where the hudson river takes a slight bend to the right and since we've been asked to follow the river we're turning along with that bend to stay over the middle of the river notable landmarks here are hudson yards the empire state building the bright lights of times square and a whole bunch of new super tall skyscrapers that have recently been built you can easily see into the canyons of the new york city streets we're now starting to see central park in the middle of manhattan island our slightly revised heading takes us in a northeastern direction if you're having trouble making out central park it's the area in the middle of manhattan island where the city grid system ends due to the presence of the park and its many trees which are not lit at night you can see how the roads in the park are windy we've passed over the area of manhattan with the very tall skyscrapers and from now on the buildings will be smaller at the top left you can see some red lights that's laguardia airport it's not that far away but it'll be another 7 minutes before we touch down as we need to descend more and swing back around to line up with the runway looking at its radar scope and nearby traffic on it the approach controller has decided that it's time to issue us clearance to turn slightly to the right to allow us to get closer to the final approach point all while considering that there is still a plane ahead of us so we're now no longer following the hudson but relying on commands from the controller you can now see the harlem river which separates manhattan from the bronx will eventually be flying over the bronx and lower westchester county not only has the air traffic controller issued us a specific heading to fly to but now that we're past the area where private pilots are flying below primarily for sightseeing he begins to issue us clearances to lower altitudes we're now descending one thousand feet lower and any change to our heading speed or altitude is always issued by the controller now don't worry about those smaller planes below us at this point we're in controlled airspace and atc will ensure that they don't get in our way as we descend for landing we're flying part of what is called a downwind leg as we're now parallel to but flying in the opposite direction of the landing runway here we can see the harlem river bend and head towards the west this marks the end of manhattan island and we're now flying over the bronx we'll continue on this heading for a bit which takes us over the riverdale section of the bronx the air traffic controller is now considering when to issue us the next clearance to turn to the right we should be lined up with the runway by around five to ten miles out so it's critical that the turn is not issued too early and remember there is a plane ahead of us so we don't want to get too close okay it's time for the next turn as issued by the controller we're now joining what is called the base leg which means that we're going to be flying in a direction at a right angle to the extended center line of the runway the large dark area that you see below is van courtland park in the bronx if there are a lot of airplanes coming to laguardia the approach controller won't issue this right turn until many miles ahead at times this turned head to the right can be issued as far north as white plains new york but here we're starting to turn over the bronx and just flying into lower westchester as we look back over the hudson river near manhattan we can see a plane behind us which will eventually be making the same turn upon reaching this point considering that there's sufficient separation if the controller deems that the airplane is too close to us the right turn will occur further along the view here allows us to see where we came from as well as where we'll be going soon we'll need to make a right turn to turn towards the airport we'll be landing on runway 2-2 this evening and this runway was chosen as the arrival runway due to the current wind conditions all planes must land into the wind and runway 2-2 is best lined for this tonight at this point the approach controller asks the pilot if he has the runway in sight it's tough to see but the runway and its approach lights are visible from here the pilot acknowledges that he can see the runway and the approach controller clears us for a visual approach to runway 2-2 the next step for the pilot is to determine when to start the final turn onto the final approach course just like when we flew north on the hudson river this portion is visual focusing on the runway out the front window but any instruments that are available for the approach can also be used by the pilot for assistance we're in that turn to line up with the runway now while flying over pelham bay park which is the dark area at the bottom of the screen it's at this point that the controller located in garden city new york instructs us to contact the laguardia airport control tower the pilot contacts the control tower informing him that we are approaching the airport the response from the tower is that we are cleared to land because the traffic ahead of us is not a factor for our approach and landing in the cockpit the crew is configuring the airplane to land while going through landing checklists this includes setting appropriate flap settings and pulling a lever to ensure that the landing gear is down and locked for touchdown if you look to the top right of the screen you can see that aircraft that was behind us eventually that aircraft is going to make the same right-hand turn we did to join this approach course we're flying by interstate 95 in the bronx here we've traveled by the west north and now eastern border of the bronx since we're approaching the runway we can continue to descend lower and slow down to our landing speed runway 2-2 is just a few miles ahead runway 2-2 received this numerical designation because it has a compass heading of 220 degrees 220 degrees is southwest and that's the exact heading we're flying on right now while runway 2-2 is being used for arriving flights tonight runway 1-3 is being used for departing flights runway 1-3 intersects with runway 2-2 so departures are carefully sequenced between arriving flights as they pass the intersection of the two runways departing traffic on runway 1-3 passes from the right to the left of the intersection and when airborne departing flights are in the airspace on the east side of laguardia that's why we passed by the west side of laguardia over the hudson we did not want to interfere with those departing airplanes we're currently passing over the castle hill section of the bronx as we continue to descend towards the runway which remains in sight from the cockpit the cabin is fully secured and the airplane is in the appropriate configuration for landing as we continue southwest we're approaching the end of the bronx laguardia airport is in queens and the body of water that separates the bronx from queens is the east river the remaining portion of the approach to runway 2-2 is entirely over the east river we're now approaching a decision point should we land or abandon the approach and go around everything is normal with the aircraft tonight and the traffic that was ahead of us has already taxied off runway 2-2 so we're going to continue with the landing we're almost there although we can't see it we're about to fly over approach lights that guide us towards the runway these approach lights are on a long pier which extends from the center line of the runway the beginning portion of the runway itself is also on a pier when the runway was constructed it had to be lengthened and the best way to do this was to extend it over the water we're officially in queens now and the pilot is aiming the landing gear at the touchdown zone of the runway runway 2-2 is 7000 feet long which is enough to safely stop but still shorter than most runways when any plane lands at laguardia you can feel that the pilot hits the brakes hard to stop the airplane quicker due to the length of the runway we stopped with plenty of spare room on this flight ladies and gentlemen you'll recall that there was a plane behind us that will land soon but there's enough time and enough space to clear the runway to the left and taxi to the terminal before that airplane lands well i hope you enjoyed this video the views were spectacular and i hope that you were able to learn something new the rewarding views were a result of great work between the flight crew and air traffic controllers on the ground as i continue to fly around i'll be bringing you more videos like this and in addition i'll continue to bring you videos of the inside of the cabins and in airports showcasing the complete flying experience thanks again for watching and don't forget to hit that subscribe button [Music] foreign

Channel: Peter Masella

Views: 72,858

Rating: 4.9448929 out of 5

Keywords: LGA, LaGuardia Airport, Manhattan, Hudson River, Verazzano Bridge, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Westchester, I95, Riverdale, Castle Hill, Runway 22, Flying Over Manhattan, Flying On the Hudson River, East River, Central Park, Upper New York Bay, Air Traffic Control, Approach Control, LGA Tower, LaGuardia Tower, LaGuardia Control Tower, Visual Approach, Approach Lights, Runway, Downwind Leg, Base Leg, Right Turns, Air Traffic, Airport Approach, Midtown Manhattan

Id: nwkL1xR5Mig

Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Tue May 18 2021