WHOA: 2 Flyover Planes Came Within 50 Ft Of Hitting A Rugby Stadium In South Africa And The Clips Are WILD
Giphy Images.Uhhh are flyovers nearly killing half the stadium standard procedure in South Africa? I'm no rugby fan so really not familiar with their game over there. It looked INCREDIBLE, don't get me wrong. Just a little too close to comfort for me. Especially since I would most certainly be sitting up in the nosebleeds and eating the nose of that passenger plane for breakfast.
And according to all the aviation experts (Twitter) this was a supremely dangerous maneuver no matter how many clearances those pilots got ahead of time. So many unpredictable variables that could've gone wrong while those fireworks were going off. Bling bang bru!
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Our lowest recorded ADS-B altitude was 50 ft at standard pressure, or approximately 205–210 ft AMSL when corrected for the local QNH of 1019 hPa. With DHL Stadium standing about 164 ft tall near sea level, that puts the aircraft roughly 41–46 ft (12.5–14 m) above the top of the stadium.
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But apparently yes… That's just how they do it for rugby in South Africa. What glorious maniacs indeed.
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Captain Laurie Kay of South African Airways pioneered large passenger-airliner flyovers at packed sporting events. On 24 June 1995, just before the Rugby World Cup final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Kay and a skeleton crew (SFO Billy Fourie, FE Don Coppard, and training captain Selwyn Thomas) flew SAA Boeing 747-200 Lebombo (ZS-SAN) low and slow over the stadium. “Good Luck Bokke” was stencilled on the underside. The pass was a closely guarded secret, rehearsed in a simulator and in a light twin so as not to give the game away. It was widely described at the time as the first time an aircraft of that size had been flown so low over a packed stadium. The 1995 flypast is credited with starting the South African tradition of commercial-jet stadium flyovers. Military flyovers at sports events date to 1918.
Love a good "TRY AGAIN" off on the internet, always ends amicably with both sides coming to a clear understanding. But I'm certainly glad to have learned something valuable today. Had no idea South Africa literally invented death defying over-the-top flyovers for sporting events. Cheers to that bru. Stay frosty up there!