Maho Beach & Princess Juliana Airport
Wednesday, 2nd August 2006 by James Turnbull
Pictures of Maho Beach on the Dutch Antilles island of St Maarten have been cropping up on the net for years - usually with people claiming them to be the result of a photoshopping competition.
You see, the island is so small that the main runway is right next to Maho beach and jumbo jets have to fly in very low over the beach to make sure they can stop before the end. This results in holidaymakers having huge airliners just metres over their sunbathing - here's a bunch of such pictures, none of which are photoshopped.
A lot of plane buffs also hang out on the beach and there's good videos on YouTube of many planes landing and the beach being blown away as a plane takes off.
Thanks: Andrés Muñiz & Babaganoosh
That there is one short runway. There’s one on Oahu, Hawaii, too (military); the planes look like they’re landing on the water. Fun stuff.
Incidentally, what’s that at the bottom of that lake, just north of the runway? Looks like something manmade’s buried there.
Woah, that is weird- did they dredge out the sand in a straight line or something?
The runway is just over 7,000 feet, which is relatively short for an international airport but nonetheless long enough to accommodate just about any airliners including 747’s.
Are those people getting blown away on the beach in the video of it taking off?
Now search for the runway in saba, (in netherlands antilles other) you take off just over the sea!!
Btw saba is right across from StMaarten
Was there last year and it was quite exciting landing and taking off. When you take off from the sea end toward the lagoon there is a Marigot Hill which i wouls say is 1000′ elev. which is evident by the lack of roads.
It should be added, apparently, that the line about “none of which are photoshopped” is a joke. At least, I hope it’s a joke. Actually, it may be technically correct, since the quality of some of the pictures on that page looks more like they were done in MS Paint than in Photoshop. It’s like they weren’t even trying to make a convincing image.
No, it wasn’t a joke – those are real photographs.
I’ve flown into this airport several times. Its a 7,000 foot runway, which is not short (its like a mile and a half) but for a 747, its relatively short. Short enough that the 747 can land, but if is not able to take off with full fuel.
It is a fairly large island, but it is a very mountainous one, which is why the airport is sitting in the only flat land they have, right next to the beach.
If you search google for TNCM (the airports code) you’ll get some good pictures of planes landing. It has long been a famous airport for the ability to sit on the beach and watch the planes land right over your head.