Pilot Yelco Leon managed to land the plane on the 4,100 ft-long airport on El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands and dubbed it a “unique experience” in a viral video
Pilot battles winds to land plane on one of world’s shortest runways
A pilot dubbed the most handsome at his airline battled raging winds to land a plane on one of the world’s shortest runways.
Yelco Leon, 31, has captained planes for two and a half years and works for Binter Canarias, the main carrier for Spain’s Canary Islands. Yelco, who comes from the island of El Hierro, shared a video of himself landing at the local airport in strong wind.
He was seen steering the plane with one hand while using the other to adjust the power. “My left hand is controlling the yoke, trying to combat the hard wind coming from the right,” he explained.
“Right wind coming from the sea causes turbulence on the runway because it hits the passenger terminal and becomes turbulent air. My right hand is on the power levers, adjusting the power.”
Yelco, who flies twin-engine ATR 72s, shared the clip on his TikTok and Instagram pages where he has nearly 20,000 followers. It went viral with over 4m views on TikTok.
He captioned the video: “Landing on one of the shortest runways in the world, El Hierro, the Magic Island.” Yelco’s home island was considered the smallest of the archipelago until La Graciosa was officially recognised as the eighth Canary Island in 2018.
The airport’s runway is only 4,100 feet in length, limiting its operations to regional turboprop aircraft. Yelco said: “Landing at El Hierro is a unique experience.
“It’s an airport that, although small, presents certain challenges that make it special for pilots. Due to its location and topography, we often face crosswinds, changing gusts, and weather conditions that require a great deal of concentration and precision.
“But that’s precisely what makes it interesting: every approach is different, and every landing is an opportunity to apply everything we’ve learned.
“On a personal level, I always experience it with respect, but also with great satisfaction. Flying to El Hierro is a way of being closer to home, and that always shows in the cockpit.”
Yelco’s video attracted lots of comments from fans. One follower said: “You are magic.”
Annie added: “The most handsome Binter pilot! My goodness Yelco, how did you land like that? Not a single hair on your head moved,” remarked Rosa.
Victor said: “The first time I flew to El Hierro by plane, I braked more with my feet than the pilot.” Another local added: “Thanks to all the pilots who take us to and from our little island!”
