Some 56,000 spectators are ensconced inside the stadium.
The airplanes skimming over the stadium’s roof with some 45 feet to spare for the lowest one, are two Embraer E190/ E195 regional passenger jets.
They belong to a domestic airline called Airlink.
The observers/ photographers on the rooftop had permission to be there.
The ‘pyrotechnic’ effects are made by very fine powder and didn’t pose a danger to the aircraft (or so we are told).
Here is Matthew Klint writing on the website liveandletsfly.com:
Airlink says the South African Civil Aviation Authority approved the altitude and speed and that the aircraft remained within those parameters, so this was not some rogue pair of pilots deciding to buzz a stadium.
That makes me ask: why was such a small margin approved in the first place?
South African regulations ordinarily prohibit aircraft from flying less than 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle when over a congested area or open-air gathering, though regulators can authorize special operations.
Clearly, some sort of authorization existed here. But approval does not make a maneuver prudent.
Airlink has said it will have the event independently reviewed, which seems entirely appropriate.
I hope that review asks not only whether everyone followed the approved plan, but whether the plan itself created an unnecessary risk.
A flyover could have certainly occurred without going so low … but on the other hand, I’m not pronouncing final judgment at this time.
Let’s see if a transparent investigation occurs.
