Crazy US A-10 Thunderbolt Pilot Attempts to Land on a Highway

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Austere Landings

It’s crucial for planes to take off and land in harsh terrain. An aircraft capable of doing so will make itself serviceable to more missions in inadequate conditions. 

Planes like the A-10 have that particular ability and their pilots are trained to pull off landings and take-offs from such runways. One specific exercise is landing on US highways where trees, poles, and cable lines are usually present. In these exercises, the A-10s would be accompanied by a ground crew to close off the road from civilians. The pilot would then make a couple of passes to determine the best way to approach his landing.

C-130 planes are also designed to take off and land in these conditions. Usually, it would need 5,000 ft of runway to land but a C-130 can opt to use only 3,000 ft in assault landings.