Woman blown over by plane at SXM

[kayehall]

I have a hand held radio that I used to take to NASCAR races to listen to the drivers. Would that work? How do I know what frequency they are on?

[kayehall]

Seeing a plane flying that low overhead would be an adrenline rush. I love, love, love planes. I wonder if the pilots are concentrating on landing or watching for bikinis!!!! LOL. I used to fly in and out of Scranton, Pa and there was an "adult" outdoor movie theater on final to one of the runways. I used to tease the guys to keep their eyes "on the road"....

[gtaylor]

I have a hand held radio that I used to take to NASCAR races to listen to the drivers. Would that work? How do I know what frequency they are on?

 

JULIANA Tower 118.7

 

JULIANA Primary Approach 128.95

 

JULIANA Primary Departure 128.95

 

gary

[gtaylor]

As a kind of wrap-up to this story, this is what I have collected from local St. Maarten media sources.

 

The victims were two French teenagers, conflicting reports of being visitors or French-side residents.

 

He suffered a broken leg, she suffered head lacerations. Apparently they are doing as well as can be expected.

 

Police and airport security have instituted a policy of discouraging visitors from ‘flying’ ‘floating’ or ‘surfing’ the fence. Apparently this doesn’t prevent adventurous folks from running up to the fence at the last minute as a flight takes off.

 

Bottom line, be careful out there.

 

What caught me by surprise was an editorial in the local paper, The Daily Herald.

 

One of a kind

 

Perhaps St. Maarten’s biggest attraction in practice is the unique situation at the South end of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) runway, which is right on Maho Beach and the road leading into Beacon Hill.

 

It’s a special circumstance that probably would not be allowed for reasons of aviation safety nowadays, but – also due to the nearby resorts and other tourism facilities – no longer can be changed.

 

<snip>

 

Over the years it has become a favoured pastime for locals and visitors alike to watch often huge aircraft land closely overhead or witness the jet blast during takeoff.

 

<snip>

 

Several years ago a few cars, in some cases with people in them, actually were blown onto the beach and even into the water by the jet blasts, but fortunately nobody was badly hurt.

 

Extra signs, double-fencing, guardrails and other infrastructural adjustments to stop motorists from parking along that part of the road were added and there had been no serious incidents since.

 

Until this past Easter weekend, when a JetBlue plane took off particularly close to the fence and a woman apparently could not hold on. In attempting to retreat while being blown forward she stumbled over the road divider and fell with her head against the other divider separating the street from the beach.

 

<snip>

 

PJIA now has announced increased security measures to protect these thrill-seekers. While that is probably a good idea, one should not be too worried about a negative backlash.

 

Judging from reactions on the Internet, most agreed that the victim knowingly took a risk and paid the price, while her injuries luckily were not that severe.

 

<snip>

 

In fact, the long-term effect might even be positive, again bringing international attention to this one-of-a-kind attraction.

 

After all, when it comes to name recognition, experience has shown that practically any publicity is good publicity.

 

gary