Corkscrew landing
{{Short description|Method of landing an aircraft}}A corkscrew landing (also spiral landing){{cite news|url=http://www.dw.de/dhl-plane-struck-by-missile-in-baghdad/a-1039411-1|title=DHL Plane Struck by Missile in Baghdad|date=22 November 2003|publisher=Deutsche Welle|access-date=23 December 2012}} is a method of landing an aircraft that is intended to minimize the risk of the aircraft being hit by anti-aircraft fire from the ground as it approaches to land at a destination airport. Instead of slow descent towards the airport, in a corkscrew landing the aircraft is positioned at high altitude above the airport, then descends rapidly in a spiral. The maneuver is typically performed by pilots of military aircraft to avoid surface-to-air missiles.
Technique
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A corkscrew landing involves positioning the aircraft over the landing site at altitude, then descending in a steeply banked spiral path.{{cite news |last=Michael Dobbs |author-link=Michael Dobbs (US author) |date=March 26, 2008 |title=Clinton Appears Weary Of Taking 'Sniper Fire' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032502446.html |access-date=25 November 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} To do this the pilot of the aircraft banks the aircraft from the horizontal and begins a fast descent. Once closer to the airfield, the pilot will slowly level off and begin descent into the runway.{{Cite web |title=Corkscrew Landings - The American Spectator {{!}} USA News and Politics The American Spectator {{!}} USA News and Politics |url=https://spectator.org/48215_corkscrew-landings/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=The American Spectator {{!}} USA News and Politics |language=en}}
History
The corkscrew landing maneuver has been reported as being performed in the Vietnam War.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/in-praise-of-flying-beasts-of-burden-20121123-29yp4.html|title=In praise of flying beasts of burden|last=Wright|first=Tony|date=24 November 2012|work=The Age|publisher=Fairfax Media|access-date=25 November 2012}}{{cite news|url=http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/landing_in_baghdad.html?c=y&story=fullstory|title=Landing in Baghdad|last=Duffin|first=Allan T.|date=November 2006|work=Air & Space magazine|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=23 December 2012}}
It also became the standard method of landing by airlines flying into Baghdad International Airport after a DHL cargo aircraft was struck and nearly destroyed by a surface-to-air missile during takeoff in November 2003.
References
{{Reflist}}https://www.wkrn.com/news/what-is-a-corkscrew-landing-military-planes-taking-evasive-measures-at-kabul-airport/
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