Pilot sparks fury after flying 328ft over town – ‘very serious matter’ | World | News
A Boeing 757 pilot flying at an “alarmingly low” altitude to celebrate his retirement has resonated with an Icelandic town. The pilot was making his last commercial flight after 40 years of service on Saturday, April 11, over Vestmannaeyjar, a volcanic archipelago in southern Iceland.
While flying the service from Frankfurt to Iceland, the pilot decided to descend 328 feet (100 meters) above the community before landing at Keflavik International Airport. Iceland Airlines reported the experienced pilot to the police after he made an unauthorized low-altitude flight to say goodbye to his childhood home. Flight Chief Linda Gunnarsdóttir said she believed passengers were informed about the travel pass during the flight. However, Irelandair has not yet confirmed this.
Footage taken by residents of Vestmannaeyjar shows the 225-passenger jet, over 150 metres, appearing to be cruising at hill level and flying at a terrifyingly low altitude over house roofs and treetops. Citizens in the area later told reporters that they experienced noticeable noise and vibration as the plane passed overhead. Daily Mail. Many people feared the plane was about to crash when they saw it flying very low over the town.
Ms. Gunnarsdóttir told local media that the pilot carried out the maneuver without the airline’s knowledge or permission.
“In aviation, everything is very rigid in work processes, checklists, and other things… What we do in normal passenger flights — it doesn’t fall within that framework,” she said, adding: “This is not standard practice; this is a very serious matter that we will review internally,” she added.
Ms Gunnarsdóttir said such actions were not uncommon when Irelandair pilots were making their final flights and said they had occurred in the past.
“This has happened from time to time, but it is by no means standard practice and not something we would authorize,” he told local publication Iceland Monitor.
Islandair expressed regret over the incident and continued: “We apologize to the residents of Vestmannaeyjar if they were disturbed,” Ms Gunnarsdóttir told local newspaper Visir.
Iceland did not say whether additional disciplinary measures would be taken within the company, but the police investigation is ongoing.
