A corkscrew landing (also spiral landing) is a method of

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

an aircraft that is intended to minimize the risk of the aircraft being hit by anti-aircraft fire from the ground as it approaches to land at a destination airport. Instead of slow descent towards the airport, in a corkscrew landing the aircraft is positioned at high altitude above the airport, then descends rapidly in a spiral. The maneuver is typically performed by pilots of military aircraft to avoid

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

Technique

A corkscrew landing involves positioning the aircraft over the landing site at altitude, then descending in a steeply banked spiral path. To do this the pilot of the aircraft banks the aircraft from the horizontal and begins a fast descent. Once closer to the airfield, the pilot will slowly level off and begin descent into the runway.

History

The corkscrew landing maneuver has been reported as being performed in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. It also became the standard method of landing by airlines flying into

Baghdad International Airport Baghdad International Airport , previously Saddam International Airport from 1982 to 2003, () is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Ira ...

after a

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

cargo aircraft was struck and nearly destroyed by a

during takeoff in November 2003.

References

https://www.wkrn.com/news/what-is-a-corkscrew-landing-military-planes-taking-evasive-measures-at-kabul-airport/ Flight phases Types of landing {{aviation-stub