Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is flanked by mountains, which makes positioning the approach difficult. The close proximity of populated areas also give it little leeway

Inland, mountains can prove to be particularly troublesome.

When the runway is at the top of a peak, like at Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs, Virginia, there is nothing to protect the plane from crosswinds.

In some cases, sharp downward wind can push the plane down faster than the pilot intends to go.

But if the runway is sandwiched between mountain peaks, like at Ranger Creek Airport in Greenwater, Washington, it could be difficult to position the plane while in the air for the downward approach.

The mountains could limit the runway itself as well.

A plane crashed at Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 2008 because it landed too late and over shot the runway.