American Airlines - Boeing 737-823 - SXM-MIA - Takeoff and Landing - Inflight Series Ep. 88

[@sla31]

I was saving this video for the “100th Inflight Series episode”, but after the recent events in Sint Maarten I felt like now was a good time to post it. I’m sure everyone has heard, but if you haven’t, hurricane Irma ripped through Sint Maarten just a few days ago as the strongest category 5 storm ever recorded. It had winds clocking in at over 180mph. The island was devastated, and so was our beloved SXM. It will be a long time before the island/SXM is back to normal. That’s assuming it ever returns to the way we knew it before. If you have not seen the devastation, I encourage you to search here on KZbin for some of the videos that have surfaced since the storm hit. The airport, Maho Beach, Sunset Bar and Grill, and all of the iconic SXM trademarks we all love are almost unrecognizable. This video was filmed last October when I ventured down to see KLM’s 747 arrive and depart for the last time. On this flight I got some amazing views of the entire island during our departure. Overall I think this is one of the best flights I’ve ever filmed. In this video you’ll see views that will be available again for quite some time. Enjoy this somewhat somber video. Thanks for watching.

[@SFAPowerhouse]

Let's all pray for the people of Sint Maarten & Florida as they face the devastation of Irma. It's so sad knowing that a storm has totally ravaged this paradise! And this in-flight vid, even though I know you have a few of them going into and coming out of, truly does show SXM in all of her heavenly glory. Let's hope and pray they can all recover from this tragedy. The takeoff, obviously intense, was breathtaking and spectacular and the view of the airport and the island was just as heavenly. The cruise shots in the clouds were a joy to watch as I took a sip from my hot apple cider. Also, as twilight falls, the colors of the heavens were very precious. Seemed pretty cloudy going down to MIA. But the landing looked great; you even caught a takeoff on the slow-down! Too cool! All in all, this was a great tribute to the island of Sint Maarten! Great work, man! Let's keep praying for SXM and FL. And this is coming from a proud Texan who just endured the wrath of Harvey and didn't get a scratch!

[@sla31]

Nicely said man. It's easy to forget about people suffering in other places when you're being battered at home. I was lucky to get these views. When I worked for American I didn't get to pick my own seat, so it was 50/50 if I'd get this view or not. I could say I wanted a window, but other than that it was whatever the gate agent gave me. I'm sure the people of the Caribbean will be back on their feet in no time, but the scars from Irma will be seen for a long time. I was actually supposed to land in MIA well before the sun went down, but we had several delays on this particular flight. The flight actually left the gate on time, but there was some ramp congestion at SXM that prevented us from taking off for awhile. Then MIA was getting pounded by thunderstorms, so we had to fly all over the place to dodge all of those. We landed almost 2 hours behind scheduled as a result. Thanks for watching man! We're all still thinking about Texas too!

[@LeshVarg]

Very sad to see what happened to St Maarten. After seeing that, I am getting prepared for it right now here in FL. Thanks for sharing this my friend.

[@sla31]

I hope you're doing alright my friend. Stay safe! Thanks for watching the video man!

[@ymmlspottingteam]

It's very, very sad to see the outcome of the last few days. Thanks for sharing such a great memory of SXM!

[@sla31]

It is indeed very sad. It's hard to watch some of the videos. I love St. Maarten. It is my favorite place to visit, and seeing the devastation and knowing what they must be going through is terrible. Thanks for watching my friend.

[@DanielTrue16]

thank you for sharing. It's such a tragedy what happened to the island and all of the other locales there. Here's to a quick recovery!

[@sla31]

Agreed my friend. I'm sure the people of the Caribbean will be back on their feet in no time, but the scars will be left for years to come. Thanks for watching. I appreciate it.

[@odane6336]

Great video

[@sla31]

Thanks you my friend! I'm glad you liked it!

[@eunkyungmiller1987]

l love it

[@sla31]

Thanks man! I'm glad you like it!

[@nickgresla234]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2rdnJydntB4qrc redid this one, looking back probably shouldve done flaps 15 departure as I only cleared the mountain by about 500 ft and started the turn too late, but the mountain was succesfully avoided, but I was going off what I saw in the video, and from what I could tell it was a flaps 5 or flaps 10 departure, but I will definitely keep these in mind for next time.

[@aviationcentral126]

Bro the intro music is so different

[@sla31]

Yes, you have found one of my older videos, where I had a different intro. I don’t think it was long after this video, where I changed it to what it is now.

[@nickgresla234]

I’ve been there!!!!!!

[@sla31]

SXM is a great place. Hopefully it'll be back to the way it was before the hurricane quickly. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@nickgresla234]

Skylite Productions apparently it’s the #4 most extreme airport in the the world, I’ve also been to st Barth’s airport the #3 most extreme airport