Airline pilots have a very stressful job. I have friends that are pilots, one with United and the other with Southwest and they absolutely love their job, but looking at it from the outside, while it would be cool to fly a big jet all around the country and even the world, it would seem to me that it could also be very stressful. You're not only hauling hundreds of people in your plane whose safety you're responsible for, but throw in weather situations and other stressful situations that add to the pressure and that's something that I think make pilots a very special breed.

According to OutThere Colorado, the most dangerous airport in the nation is right here in Colorado, in Telluride. While there aren't really any jumbo jets landing at the airport in Telluride, this airport has the distinction of being the most dangerous airport in the country and from the looks of this thing...while surrounded by an incredible amount of beauty, its dangerous runway is something that could make the steadiest of pilots cringe a bit.

YouTube/ Jim Siverts

The airport sits at 9,078 feet above sea level and is surrounded by the beautiful San Juan Mountains and very steep cliffs that doesn't leave much for error...at all. That's one of the several reasons why the Telluride Regional Airport is considered by many to be one of the most dangerous airports in the country.

To help prevent overruns– when a plane is unable to take off prior to reaching the end of the runway– the airport uses something that is called the 'EMAS Safety Bed' technology.

This is a special section of track put at the end of a runway that's designed to stop a moving aircraft by adding major resistance to the rolling of the landing gear. As a plane moves onto the safety bed, it collapses into the ground, swallowing the lower portion of a wheel and slowing the roll to a stop.

It's kind of like a runaway truck ramp that you see driving through the mountains when descending a sharp decline, which slows the roll of an out-of-control truck as the tires sink into gravel.

Here's a better look and understanding of what makes this airport in Colorado one of the most dangerous in the world...SHEESH.

YouTube/Barry Caraway

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