Video: Spiral Approach to Baghdad International

[Matt Molnar]

Video clips of NBC anchor Brian Williams aboard a Royal Jordanian flight landing in Baghdad.

• Approach (http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=319da947-3295-4c77-bad7-4903d86d8d23&p=hotvideo_m_bwiraq&t=m5&rf=http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/&fg=)
• Taxiing/Cabin Announcements (http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=b576f760-0fa3-4b41-acf7-3a61d9d5a801&p=hotvideo_m_bwiraq&t=m5&rf=http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/&fg=)

[USAF Pilot 07]

Wow, sweet video! Is that going to be on the Nightly News Tonight, because it's something I definately want to check out...

Is Royal Air Jordanian the only airline to fly to Baghdad? What equipment do they use (looked like an Airbus window)? Do the crews layover in Baghdad, or is it a fly-in fly-out type deal?

I imagine the approach must be pretty exciting, and just landing on a commercial airliner in Baghdad pretty exciting...
Many of us think of Baghdad of a smaller type city, when it reality it is huge; definately a place I want to visit sometime.

[nwafan20]

From what I can tell, Royal Jordanian is the only scheduled airline to Baghdad currently.

They only use Fokker F28's.

[Matt Molnar]

The video is dated March 4, so I guess that's when it aired on the news.

The flight ain't cheap...the AMM-BGW fare runs about US$550 round trip, which is only $200 less than JFK-AMM.

[PhilDernerJr]

His "And....................................

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........welcome to Baghdad," was particularly corny and pathetic.

[lijk604]

Very disappointing...he is such a camera ***** that everything he was describing, we could not see...we could only see his shadowed face.
Um hello Brian, let the cameraman sit in the window seat, you sit on the aisle. This way people can see what the hell you are talking about!

[SengaB]

Don't you just love it when those people make it sound like they know what they are talking about when they probably don't even know what kind of aircraft they are flying on.

But I guess for the cluless masses it works.

Senga

[njgtr82]

When I first went over there we caught a C-130 in Al Asad AB and it was a similar approach, but ours seemed to be a bit more of a tighter, spiraling descent

[cancidas]

I WANNA FLY THAT!!
I WANNA FLY THAT!!
I WANNA FLY THAT!!

[Nonstop2AUH]

I recall reading somewhere the F-28 is flown for RJ by a South African charter company, as RJ has no Fokkers of their own. I also remember people predicting that by now, there would be nonstop regular commercial flights to Baghdad from London and Detroit. Vision is a wonderful, if not always accurate, thing.

[Matt Molnar]

I think I remember some airline (United?) applying to the DOT for a US-Baghdad route a couple years ago.

[Nonstop2AUH]

Gotham- In May 2003, NW filed an application to do Baghdad from DTW (because of the big Iraqi-American community) via AMS.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... ies%2fIraq (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E3DA143FF933A25756C0A9659C8B 63&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territori es%2fIraq)

There was also I think some talk of BA or Virgin from London to Basra where the Brits have just pulled out. Sounds like "Rosy Scenario" was at work back then!

[nwafan20]

Joy, now I can fly from DTW-Baghdad! That is what I have always wanted to do!

Technically, the large Muslim community is in Dearborn, not Detroit.