Danger At Birmingham Airport

This was a scene today at Birmingham Airport
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/loc...-misses-6376065
trouble is Birminghams runway was built in the wrong direction, pilots encounter strong crosswinds often.

Birmingham has perfect crossing runways.
The real problem is that they extended one and closed the other, so even the smaller aircraft no longer get to choose the one they prefer.

Would the runways have been built in the wrong direction if the wind had changed direction.

Shard End boy

This is a matter of record, Birmingham has a serious crosswind problem due to the location of its main runway. When it was first sited planes were so much smaller. The original elmdon airport had very little traffic.

Yes SB, but the point being made is that the wind can, and often does come from directions other than 270 (West).
BHX runways are 15/33 (Long) and 06/24 (Short)(Closed)
This means that when the airport was built no runway was ever more than 45 degrees off the wind direction, with the compass points 60, 150, 240 and 330 being served.

Now, with only one runway in use, if the wind is from 150 or 330 then the aircraft will take off directly into it. For any other wind direction they will pick the most suitable route.
When the wind is very strong, like it was yesterday, then any so called crosswind present is more difficult to work with.
Even when the wind is perfectly aligned with the runway small aircraft will have difficulty putting down if the windspeed is too high.
If they fly with it their real ground speed will too high, if they fly into it, in the usual manner, their airspeed will be too high to lose the necessary amount of lift.

The real danger at any airfield is Wind Shear. That is very dangerous, and invisible.

If you check runway designations around the world you will find they all point in a variety of directions.