Understanding Crosswind or Sideways Wind that Causes Batik Air Plane to Land Crooked at Soekarno-Hatta Airport

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Complex Korean - An incident in the aviation sector has just occurred in Indonesia. Due to this, a Batik Air plane landed skewed and nearly skidded upon landing at the runway of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta), Tangerang, Banten on Saturday (28/6).

At that moment, heavy rain occurred where as the aircraft approached the runway, there was an increase in wind speed from the side or known as crosswind.

Fortunately, the landing took place under safe conditions as all procedures were followed according to the flight operations manual.

What is a crosswind or wind from the side?

For those who don't know, crosswind, which in Indonesian is also called angin silang, is a type of wind that moves perpendicular or at an angle to the travel path of an object.

This wind direction will also have a significant impact on the aerodynamics of various types of transportation.

For when an object moves not parallel to the direction of the wind, then the crosswind component will hit it from the side.

In some activities such as sailing, power kiting, kitesurfing, or kiteboarding, crosswind can be utilized positively. However, in other situations, a strong crosswind can push vehicles to the side, thus creating a risk of danger.

In the world of aviation, crosswind refers to wind that blows across the runway horizontally.

What is the Impact on the Aviation World?

This complicates the takeoff and landing processes for aircraft, especially when compared to conditions when the wind is blowing straight along the runway.

If the crosswind speed is high enough, its impact can also damage the aircraft's landing gear (undercarriage).

In the aviation weather report, crosswind is often abbreviated as X/WIND and is measured in knots (kt).

Not only in the air, crosswinds also pose a potential danger to land vehicles, especially when roads are slippery due to snow, ice, or standing water.

Vehicles with large side surfaces such as SUVs, vans, large trucks, or tractor-trailers will certainly be more susceptible to being pushed by that wind blast.