Maho Beach on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten is world famous. Not so much for its tranquility and white sand, but for its location at the start of the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport.
The touchdown point for the hovering aircraft on runway 10 is only a few meters from the beach. The planes land just above the heads of the onlookers. Only a fence separates the curious from the runway.
Maho Beach: Planespotter's Paradise
This airport is rightly considered a Mecca for planespotters, who armed with cameras take photos of the machines and people on the beach with its turquoise sea in the background.
Recently, a Ukrainian couple who usually perform in circuses discovered this stretch of beach as a spectacular backdrop for an acrobatic act: Yuliia Nos and Oleg Kolisnichenko don't pose like other couples for a selfie with an airplane that looks like a menacing shadow flies over them.
The two acrobats want more, namely high up. That's why the two people from Kiev dared an unusual manoeuvre: Yuliia does a one-armed handstand on Oleg's head, while an airplane with the landing gear down is about to land above them.
Risky game for a photo
Oleg uploaded the series of photos taken during extreme posing to his Instagram account. But in the social image network, the motifs have caused a divided response. In addition to admirers for her circus number, which took place in the open air instead of in the arena, there are also critical voices: "If the plane hits her foot, she will never be able to walk again," writes user "tijltjeeuh", "what a stupid action ". But Oleg waves it off and replies that there was enough distance between her and the bikes at the time the picture was taken.Blog
Follow Me"I saw the feet of the stewardess who was snatched from the plane"
And "Skunkworkspotter" complains that such weirdness is the reason "we don't have nice places to spot anymore have. People don't know how to use freedom and they start doing stupid things."
Just how life-threatening the situation on Maho Beach can be is shown by the fact that exactly one year ago a 57-year-old was fatally injured: The engine surge of a Boeing 737-800 taking off had thrown the man to the ground, who was beating his head against was thrown from a block of concrete and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
It is not for nothing that a sign warns against entering the beach when there is air traffic: "Aircraft taking off and landing can cause serious injuries or even death."
