Congonhas

I just wanted to say, after the plane crash at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo the other day, that I've been there. And I must say, the oddity of that runway was immediately obvious. As you are driving to the airport, the road passes right by the end of the runway. I'd say the distance from the end of the runway to the road is 100 yards. In the intervening distance, there's a steep hill that leads down to the road from the runway with several large red metal landing ligh structures. It's pretty clear that any plane that overshoots the runway is doomed.

In the photo, my plane is about to take a right turn onto the runway, and take off in the opposite direction that the doomed TAM flight landed. Notice the woman in the photo clearly visible walking along the sidewalk of that road.

Here's a google earth photo that shows the bird's eye view. The plane in the photo is in almost exactly the same place where the above photo was taken.

Google Earth of Congonhas