Low flying planes near highways

[OCGuy81]

Driving (well more like taking my foot off the break every few minutes) north on the 405 yesterday afternoon, I was reminded of how low planes fly over the stretch of freeway between the MacArthur Blvd exit and the interchange with the 55, as they land at John Wayne Airport.   It's kind of cool when you're in slow traffic, seeing planes drop to the runway just to the west of the freeway.

San Diego is another area where you can see low flying planes, be it in Balboa Park, or driving on I-5.  What are some other areas, perhaps in your neck of the woods, where planes fly pretty low over a highway? Some roads I've been on before, I can't quite remember where, had runways that went over surface streets.  That was pretty cool as well.

I'm an aviation geek in addition to being a road geek, so makes sense this is my first topic! 

[1995hoo]

The approach to Newark Airport passes over the New Jersey Turnpike at fairly low altitude.

I've never been there, but Maho Beach would be #1 on the list of low approaches over a road (and over the beach). There's a road just to the right of the beach shown here and the runway is just across that road. People hang onto the fence when planes are taking off so that they can feel the jet blast. Thankfully, when THIS plane took off the police knew enough to clear the area. The fence-surfers wouldn't have fared too well when the afterburners kicked in!




This one shows the road. Notice the car. This approach is relatively high compared to a lot of pictures out there.

[formulanone]

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's Runway 9/27 is very close to I-95:



This is from my car, on the frontage road between the runway and the interstate:



There's a Low Flying Aircraft sign, but it's so far to the right on a mutil-lane highway, so you almost expect a few people to light up their tail lights in response, if one of those big birds comes in from the west (which is a fairly common approach to FLL, although occasionally from the east).

Always wanted to do the Maho Beach thing, though!

[OCGuy81]

I saw that Maho Beach on the Travel Channel! That would be a great place to visit, IMO!  They say that bar patrons sit there and have to constantly speak up over air traffic, but it's a cool experience! Nice pull.

[1995hoo]

I can't find a Concorde video, unfortunately. But there are lots of videos of that airport online, including some where idiots get blown into the water.

[TheStranger]

If I'm not mistaken, the landing approach for San Jose International Airport cross over I-880...in that vein, the takeoff path from the northwest/southeast runways at SFO (28R and 28L) directly overflies US 101.

[OCGuy81]

San Diego, IIRC, is a difficult airport to land at.  Pilots have to drop quick, as the terrain goes from about 300 feet to sea level in less than 1 nautical mile.  If you're in Balboa Park in San Diego, you'll often hear and see a LOT of planes.

I've never flown in to the airport, but visit SD often.  Some locals say that you fly between bulidings to land in San Diego, though I think that might be exaggerated a bit. You can see with this link how close the runway is to I-5 and a pretty densely populated area.  The airport is about 2, maybe 3 miles north of downtown.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=32.730289,-117.1742&spn=0.007058,0.013894&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=6

Supposedly, the city has been trying for 25 years to find a new site for an airport.  The government said no to plan to annex some of Miramar, so the search continues.

[realjd]

^^^
It's definitely exaggerated that you fly between buildings to land in SAN. You pass just north of downtown. You do get frighteningly close to the top of a parking garage however when you fly over it.

Whenever I stay in the Doubletree downtown, I like getting a high floor room facing north because I can sit on my balcony and see the planes pass at the same height as my room and fairly close.

[OCGuy81]

This is interesting.  I found an article on the "10 Scariest Airports", and Orange County/John Wayne Airport made the list!

http://www.smartertravel.com/photo-galleries/editorial/worlds-scariest-airports.html?id=32&photo=8736

People are freaked out by the noise abatement policies.  Pilots usually cycle to full power at the runway, take off quick and climb steep to reduce engine power for quiet flight over Newport Beach.

It's kind of a weird feeling when you do takeoff.  It gets quiet and as soon as you're over the water you'll start hearing that engine roar again.

[InterstateNG]

Planes landing at Detroit Metro fly pretty close to the ground over I-94.

[nexus73]

One does not need planes to fly in order to have them go over a road.  Try Sepulveda Boulevard by LAX!

Rick

[myosh_tino]

The runways at Mineta San Jose International butt up against Interstate 880.  As planes land from the south, they'll fly right over I-880 before landing.

[Eth]

One does not need planes to fly in order to have them go over a road.  Try Sepulveda Boulevard by LAX!

Rick

Also see: I-285.  The Atlanta airport's newest runway (10/28) crosses directly over the Perimeter.

[Brandon]

I-294 and I-90 near O'Hare see low-flying planes, but Midway sees much lower ones over Cicero (IL-50), 55th, 63rd, and Central Avenue.  Landing is half the fun.  "Hey, look, there's a neighborhood, and those houses are close.  Look, there's Cicero Avenue..." BUMP, BUMP SCREECH!

Found some YouTubes of landing at Midway.

Nighttime (coming in over 63rd and Cicero):
http://youtu.be/E1vgyJ5k8rY

Daytime (coming in over 63rd and Central - pilot's view):
http://youtu.be/Ty2qeAKywgM

From the ground:
http://youtu.be/0N9SxRu51tU

Note how close to the residences the planes get, and how fast landing comes after passing the street corners. 

[xcellntbuy]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe there are still taxi runways that are overpasses on Interstate 678 in New York at Kennedy Airport.  The Interstate highway dips down so the planes have no incline.

[DeaconG]

Two of the main runways at Orlando International have approaches that are right over the Beachline and McCoy Road...in years past, McCoy Road was a favorite place for plane spotters to check out the planes...not anymore.

[PAHighways]

The approaches for Pittsburgh International are directly in the path of Business Loop 376 and the one for Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is not far from the southwest corner of the US 30/PA 981 intersection.

While not flying over PA 885, the runway for the Allegheny County Airport extends over that route with the approach coming from the east over the Lebanon Church Road/Buttermilk Hollow Road intersection.

[MrDisco99]

The New Jersey Turnpike by EWR and I-85 by ATL are the two examples that instantly come to mind for me.

I-85 gets fairly close to CLT as well if I remember right.

Also the Dolphin Expressway by MIA.

[corco]

SR 143/Hohokam Expressway comes pretty close to the usual final into Sky Harbor

[deathtopumpkins]

I-64 is right next to the end of a runway at both Norfolk International and Newport News/Williamsburg International in Hampton Roads, and several of the approaches to Boston Logan go right over parts of the city, including some roads like MA 1A.

And I-564 tunnels under a runway at Naval Station Norfolk.

[hbelkins]

Bluegrass Airport in Lexington has a runway that is awfully close to US 60.

And if I am not mistaken, US 11 tunnels under the runway at the airport in Hagerstown, MD.

[Dr Frankenstein]

A-13 next to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL), Runway 24R. Planes landing above the highway.

[roadfro]

The main E/W runways at McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas are kinda close to I-15 – not nearly as close as some of the other highway/airport combinations listed here. Actually, the blast pad for runway 7L/25R (the longest runway, typically used for takeoffs) is adjacent to Las Vegas Blvd about 1/4 mile south of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Most planes usually lift off near the middle of the runway, so they're fairly high off the ground before flying over the boulevard.

[haljackey]

Planes come awfully close to Highways 401 and 427 in Toronto. Here's a video of the 18-lane stretch of Highway 401 near the airport. You can see a plane take off in it as well.

[thenetwork]

I-480, just west of I-71 in Cleveland.  Notice the street lamps which aren't much taller than 15 feet.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=brook+park+ohio&hl=en&ll=41.420467,-81.828248&spn=0.001195,0.00327&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=41.224889,107.138672&vpsrc=6&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.420451,-81.828411&panoid=a170UUopTLk1erOMRVi5-Q&cbp=12,283.79,,0,2.64