Remarks: The fourth FDX wide body to depart the airport this morning pictured leaving 01R quite heavy indeed operating a non-stop to Memphis. This aircraft rotated significantly later than is common for these domestically operated dinosaurs.
Remarks: Wearing a revised scheme, this Challenger fights nearly fifty mile an hour sustained wind with gusts of 10-15 mile an hour greater and poor visibility. It is very uncommon for the Las Vegas Valley to experience strong wind storms this time of year and certainly not this severe. The gusting wind brought blowing dust and debris on a scale I cannot recall ever experiencing in recent years and was problematic enough to shut down even WN's operation for multiple hours of whose pilots are highly experienced navigators of the LAS trade winds.
Remarks: Exceptionally strong winds resulted in an unusual forced early touchdown by the pilot. This aircraft generally sails down the runway and rarely touches down before the 3000 foot marker. Despite increased service day restrictions due to operating cost increases, the PR340 has faithfully remained committed to Las Vegas and the load factors remain strong. Fortunately the early touchdown provided a nice tight crop for display in high resolution. I hope to see the Philippine 77W here in the future, but expect Korean to utilize the type first.
