By Mark Memmott

Sure, you're an experienced traveler. You think you've seen it all.

But have you landed on any of Travel + Leisure magazine's "world's scariest runways"?

Probably many have gone in and out of Washington's Reagan National Airport and New York City's JFK, which are on T+L's list. But maybe not Paro Airport in Bhutan or Toncont??n Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, which also made the list.

T+L has some pretty nerve-wracking videos of planes going into 14 of the 15 it lists. This one may be an example of a landing that's even more frightening for those on the ground. It's Princess Juliana International Airport on St. Maarten:

The scariest runway experience I've ever had was taking off from Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The U.N. pilot decided it would be fun to bank hard to the right and fly by the cliffs where tall statues of Buddha used to stand. He wasn't worried by the stall warning. Those of us in the back were a bit more concerned.

Feel free to share stories of your own in the comments thread.

Update at 3:50 p.m. ET. Reader Lorie Johnson had a great suggestion -- post video of what it's like when a jet takes off from the airport on St. Maarten. As we quickly discovered, many folks have taken and posted clips of the wild scene when the backwash hits those who are at the beach. Note the "danger" sign. The version below has take-offs and landings. And we must say, The Two-Way does not recommend doing this!


Airbus Boeing Landing Takeoff St-Maarten Maho Beach - Watch more amazing videos here

categories: Travel

2:10 - October 22, 2009

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