Madeira Runway: Airport Runway on Pillars

Madeira is a city near Funchal, Portugal that has long been recognized for its airport. Originally, the airport runway was something of a spectacle for its outrageously short length. Being that it was surrounded by the ocean on one side and mountains on the other, even the most skilled pilots had a hard time pulling planes in to land. Of course, the fact that the original length was a mere 1600 meters only added to the danger of using the airport's runway.

The Madeira Airport boasts many modern conveniences despite its rocky past. For example, it offers easy access for the disabled people as well as walkways leading from the parking lot into the passenger terminal.

Several restaurants and cafés line the inside of the terminal and there are many shopping centers, including newsstands and coffee shops. There are also places for businesses and conferences to take place, with rooms that offer wireless Internet access. These extra conveniences come at a time when Madeira's once second-rate airport is entering the twenty-first century.

In 1977, flight 425, a boeing 727 named Sacadura Cabrel, was en route from Belgium to the Funchal airport in Portugal. On that Monday evening, short before ten o'clock and after fifteen hours of service time, the tired pilots and crew attempted to land the 727 on the Madeira airport runway.

The runway at that time was still only 1600 meters in length. After two unsuccessful attempts at landing the plane, the Captain João Lontrão and Co-pilot Miguel Guimarães Leal decided to give it one more try. If they couldn't land the flight, they would have to divert to the Canary Islands' Gran Canaria Airport.

Unfortunately for the pilots on board, there was heavy rainfall and gusts of wind that night. So, when they landed the plane 2000 ft past the threshold, they began to hydroplane. By that time, there was only about 3000 feet of runway left.

The crew tried frantically to stop the out of control aircraft by applying maximum reverse thrust and brakes, but it was in vain. The aircraft sped off the inadequate runway going approximately 43 knots and then continued, plummeting over 200 feet over a steep embankment. The plane then continued, hit a bridge, and then burst into flames.

There were 164 people on board the plane that night. Of them, 131 were killed - 125 passengers and 6 crew members. At that time, it was declared the deadliest plane crash in Portugal history. From that point on, 727-200 planes were no longer flown into Madeira airport. Only 727-100 were permitted, being that they were six meters shorter and took sixty fewer passengers.

Soon after the TAP 727 incident, the runway was extended by two hundred meters. And, in 2000, it was extended again to a length of 2781 meters. As a result, the runaway became nearly double the length it had been during the 1977 crash.

This new runway extension was built over the ocean. Instead of using landfill to construct the extension, the runway sits on 180 columns that are 70 meters tall. After it was completed, the Madeira Runway extension won the Outstanding Structures Award by the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering. This is considered the "Oscar" for engineering structure in Portugal. The new runway is widely celebrated as a great feat in architecture due to its sheer size and the amount of labor it took to erect it.

The total construction costs for the extension amounted to more than 500 million Euros, a small price to pay considering pilots and passengers can now land without fear. The new airport runway can accommodate all kinds of commercial and private aircraft and more than three million passengers per year.

The airport has certainly come a long way since 1977. TAP pilots are often still said to be the most proficient at landing and taking off at Madeira Airport being that there is still ocean on either end. Nevertheless, no matter who is flying the plane, the new runway at Madeira is an architectural wonder both in appearance and in function. It is definitely a sight to see so booking a flight and hotel in Madeira is a must!