What it's like to land on the world's shortest commercial runway

 Flying into Saba isn't for the faint hearted. The vertiginous slopes and sea cliffs of this five-square-mile island in the Caribbean don't leave much space to land a plane. But Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, clinging to Saba's only bit of flat land, is proof that it can be done.

With a strip of asphalt just 1,300 feet long (about 400 meters), only 900 feet of which are "usable," the runway is not much longer than an aircraft carrier.

Sheer drops into the sea at either end add an extra layer of excitement to the arrival on what is acknowledged as being the shortest commercial runway in the world.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is something of a holy grail for avgeeks, but it is also a lifeline for Saba, bringing in tourists and taking out locals in need of medical attention.

The runway appears on one of Saba's postage stamps, and the souvenir shop in the village of Windwardside sells T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, "I survived the Saba landing!"

You could take the ferry to get here, but the flight often appears in lists of the "world's scariest landings," and that seems reason enough to give it a try.

But is it really as hair-raising as it's made out to be?