US Air Force Boeing KC-46 makes an unusual landing at Le Bourget ahead of the Paris Air Show 2019

On Saturday 15 June 2019, a United States Air Force Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aircraft made an unusual landing at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France.

The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, a military derivative aircraft based on the popular Boeing 767 passenger aircraft, was landing on runway 21 at Le Bourget near Paris, France ahead of the Paris Air Show 2019, which will begin on Monday 17 June 2019.

An aviation enthusiast filmed the landing of the United States Air Force aircraft. The video footage shows that the aircraft was overshooting the centreline and was still making its final turn to the runway while flying very close to the ground. The flight crew had to make some significant corrections before landing. Even upon touchdown the aircraft was clearly not aligned with the centreline of the runway as the left main landing gear touched down right of the runway centreline.

Bear in mind, this landing was not part of a flying display but was part of the arrival of the aircraft for either a static and/or flying display during the Paris Air Show 2019. A discussion is currently going on on social media between professional airline pilots whether or not the aircraft should have aborted its landing instead of continuing the unstable approach and landing halfway down the runway.

16 June 2019