If you've even flown into Funchal on Madeira Island, you know what a harrowing flight is. The airport has a tiny runway and we were told that only a few airlines are aloowed to land there, and that the pilots had to have special training to be permitted to fly there. Because the runway is so short, the flights come into the airport just about at ground level. The airport is surrounded by huge hills on 3 sides, the 4th side is the ocean which is at the far end of the runway. The planes come in to the airport towards a big hill-like cliff and then do a 180 degree u-turn just before the cliff and then head into the airport. However, because the runway is so short, they have to be very low when making this u-turn. The turn was the sharpest I've ever experienced, it seemed that that plane was almost completely sideways when it turned, and because we were so low, it seemed as if the wingtip was going to hit the water on the turn. For some unknown reason the cockpit door was open (this was pre-9/11 and on a small TAP Air Portugal Jet) so we could see out the front windows and see what the pilots could see. After making the turn, we approched the runway. The plane was getting tossed around quite a lot from the very strong winds coming off the hills. As the runway approached we could see that the plane was not even straight on the runway when it touched down; we could see the pilots fighting fiercely to strighten out the plane and they were braking very hard. Since we could see out the front of the plane, we could see the end of the very short runway ahead approaching much too quickly. As we're screaming down the runway, we can feel the wind pushing on the plane; it felt the way it does sometimes when driving on the highway on a windy day. There were white faces and white knuckles everywhere on the plane; many were saying their prayers. It appeared as if we'd run out of runway before the plane would slow and we'd be taking a plunge into the sea. Just before the end of the runway the pilots do a u-turn with the plane at a speed much greater than any plane should ever take a u-turn. As the plane is turning, the wheels are skidding and shuddering from taking the corner too fast. It literally felt as if the plane was going to flip over. Then, all of a sudden, the plane was under control, and we slowly taxied to the gate. It was the only time I've ever been on a plane where the passengers erupted in spontaneous applause when the plane rolled to the gate. It felt good to be alive. The flight attendants informed us that it was actually a routine flight; that just about every flight into Funchal is like that. They said that a popular past-time is to come to the airport and watch the planes land. I now can see why. Anyone else ever flown there and had a similar experience?