torch said:
Take-offs to the west over Maho Beach are not uncommon and the following is the main reason. Twin engine aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 have to have the capability to clear the Cole Bay Hills if they lose an engine on take-off. When they are heavily loaded, some of them do not have that capability and therefore they request a runway 28 departure over Maho Beach, even with a tail wind. Note that the tail wind has to be below 15 knots or they cannot use 28. I have never heard a request denied by the Controllers at Juliana - they are very accomodating even though a runway 28 departure gives tham lots of work. I watched 2 US Airways flights this past March stuck at PJIA because they were too heavy for runway 10 departures and the tail wind for 28 was almost 20 knots. They sat on the taxiway for several hours hoping for the wind to slow to less than 15 knots. It didn't and they returned to the Terminal and waited for the next day
When we were returning home from SXM in March on JB, we had to make a stop in SJU because the pilot wanted a full load of fuel in case we needed to divert when we approached JFK as an ice storm was expected upon our arrival there. He said he could not take off from SXM with a fuel load of fuel and I guess taking off in the other direction was not an option. Despite the annoyance of having to make a stop in SJU, we arrived relatively on time and we were not diverted.
