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Originally, I headed to FLL to catch the United Airlines Boeing 737 with the Stars and Stripes Livery which United painted in celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States. I was able to capture the plane landing on 10L.
Registration: N78285
After that I checked my flight tracker app to see if anything else special would show up in the near future. It was at that moment, when I realized, there was an ITA Airways Airbus A330-900neo sitting on the tarmac on the other side of the airport. I knew there is another observation spot on the south perimeter of the airport, and I drove over there to maybe able to catch the ITA Airbus. Little did I know how much time I would actually have to photograph the plane.
When checking my flight tracker app, I saw that the plane got diverted from MIA to land at FLL. I am pretty sure it was because of the heavy storm which rolled through Miami earlier. Also, a lot of other planes which were supposed to land at MIA, got diverted to FLL. On the app it looked like the plane was ready to take off again and continue the journey to MIA.
On the short drive from one observation spot to the next, the airport reversed the flow. Instead of landing from the west, planes would now land from the east.
For me it was the first time that I experienced the reversed flow at FLL. This gave new unique angels to take photos of planes taking off. Usually, you can just get them landing, as you are too far away when they take off towards the east.
After parking I walked up the little hill, which lets you overlook the airport without the fence obstructing the view. I had my scanner with me to listen in on what was going on in general at the airport.
Since it was an international flight, nobody was allowed off the plane. While the Airbus A330 was on the ground, it also got refueled and the pilots did a short taxi to check the systems according to company policy. After the first wing got fueled, the tanker repositioned to fuel the other wing. An airport fire truck was also on scene, just in case.
As the plane got ready to get clearance for take-off and taxi to the runway, the pilots radioed in that they had now a warning light on that the right fuel hatch was open. A guy from the ground personnel ran over to check it out and he probably fixed it. I couldn’t see what he was doing, as the plane blocked him and the pilots radioed in shortly thereafter that they were now ready to taxi.
They ITA A330-900neo taxied to the end of the runway and since the airport was in reverse operation, it would take off from runway 28L. I got awesome shots of the plane taxing to the end of the runway and with all the cranes of the port in the background.
At this point, the plane was more than 3 hours on the ground. I wonder how the passengers felt, being stuck for an additional three hours after they just sat on the plane for roughly 11 hours. While the ITA Airbus was on the ground, I had plenty of chances to photograph other planes landing and taking off. Including the United Airlines Boeing 737 with the Stars and Stripes Livery I photographed landing earlier.
After taking off the plane headed to Miami International Airport at 3000ft altitude and only a few minutes of flight. I was so excited to see this heavy here at FLL.
Usually, you get only planes the size of a Boeing 737 here and lots of private jets. Nothing really heavy comes in. Every now and then a freighter comes in, but no heavy international flights.
Peter is an award-winning photographer who travels all over the world to capture the beauty of our planet as well as the achievements of humanity. Follow Peter on his travel blog Gate to Adventures for more amazing places to go and explore.
