A few years ago, I sat next to an American air traffic control expert on an Icelandair flight from Keflavik to the USA. He was returning from an international air traffic control conference in Europe and we got to talking. He told me that if he were ever in a bad situation in a commercial airplane, he would want an Icelandic pilot at the controls. This video willl show you why.
Icelandic pilots all start out doing a variety of challenging domestic routes before they tackle international airspace and they all have to fly in and out of Ísafjörður at some point-- no mean feat especially in winter when it's snowing and the wind is blowing. You have the sea on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. It takes skill and nerve to do it, yet planes safely land and take off there every day. These guys really know what they are doing.
Icelandic pilots all start out doing a variety of challenging domestic routes before they tackle international airspace and they all have to fly in and out of Ísafjörður at some point-- no mean feat especially in winter when it's snowing and the wind is blowing. You have the sea on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. It takes skill and nerve to do it, yet planes safely land and take off there every day. These guys really know what they are doing.
And if you wonder why Icelandophiles like me rave about the beauty of Icelandic nature, take a look at the mountains in the background as this pilot lands his Air Iceland Fokker 50 as if he were putting a baby in a cradle.
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