E190 stadium formation flyover at Cape Town

MikeD

MikeD

Administrator
Staff member
Lead jet at stadium height, wing jet appears to take a hit by one of the fireworks.

Failed to take Tac Effective Range of roman candles and aerial display pieces into their preflight planning.

Like i’ve always said, flyovers and such, aren’t worth it. At best you break even. At best. You never win, and often, you lose, whether by your own hand doing something dumb, or by someone else’s perception, whether accurate or inaccurate.

flyover at 3:00 mark




View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQ8DGNDvic&pp=ygUXc291dGggYWZyaWNhIEUxOTUgZmx5Ynk%3D&ra=m
 
Screw it up and you get a billion youtube views and end flyovers forever.

(and take a few hundred out to boot)
 
MikeD said:
Lead jet at stadium height, wing jet appears to take a hit by one of the fireworks.

Failed to take Tac Effective Range of roman candles and aerial display pieces into their preflight planning.

Like i’ve always said, flyovers and such, aren’t worth it. At best you break even. At best. You never win, and often, you lose, whether by your own hand doing something dumb, or by someone else’s perception, whether accurate lr inaccurate.

flyover at 3:00 mark




View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQ8DGNDvic&pp=ygUXc291dGggYWZyaWNhIEUxOTUgZmx5Ynk%3D&ra=m
Click to expand...


Less than 50 feet over the stadium, somebody’s gonna get a talking to.
 
For all the professional pilots in the forum: how far off on throttle control / altitude situational awareness do you have to be in order to cut it this close? For example: 1/8” on the throttle? Seems like doing 3nm per minute with a turbine engine doesn’t leave a lot of room for error
 
ozone said:
For all the professional pilots in the forum: how far off on throttle control / altitude situational awareness do you have to be in order to cut it this close? For example: 1/8” on the throttle? Seems like doing 3nm per minute with a turbine engine doesn’t leave a lot of room for error
Click to expand...

They would have established a configuration and target airspeed so they wouldn’t have to think about anything other than clearing the stadium by a desired margin. The target airspeed would have given them sporty maneuvering and adequate rate of climb without adjusting throttle.

I probably would have briefed “hands off throttles” after target airspeed and altitude was established at an established distance from the target.

After that, it’s all eye-hand coordination unless AP was used. AP use at low levels presents some hazards that are probably unacceptable.

These days, I think 500 feet over structures is the military minimum with a 100 feet of deniability and forgiveness. I think the lead here had less than 100 foot clearance.

Video shot from inside the stadium is pretty alarming.



View: https://youtube.com/shorts/7nnnLIzZFbs?is=21y8v0PYl2gEr4wu
 
Last edited:
Pilot Fighter said:
They would have established a configuration and target airspeed so they wouldn’t have to think about anything other than clearing the stadium by a desired margin. The target airspeed would have given them sporty maneuvering and adequate rate of climb without adjusting throttle.

I probably would have briefed “hands off throttles” after target airspeed and altitude was established at an established distance from the target.

After that, it’s all eye-hand coordination unless AP was used. AP use at low levels presents some hazards that are probably unacceptable.

These days, I think 500 feet over structures is the military minimum with a 100 feet of deniability and forgiveness. I think the lead here had less than 100 foot clearance.

Video shot from inside the stadium is pretty alarming.



View: https://youtube.com/shorts/7nnnLIzZFbs?is=21y8v0PYl2gEr4wu
Click to expand...

40ft
 
The best ADS-B altitude will indicate precision only to steps of 25 feet. I'm not sure if that is rounded or floored; might depend on the avionics.

The Google robot tells me the stadium is 164 ft tall. It's right on the coast, so maybe only 10-20 feet of elevation.
 
02 September 2026, Johannesburg – Airlink acknowledges the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) update on the support it is providing in reviewing the flight data and all relevant information relating to the planning, preparation and production of last Saturday’s formation flyby over the Cape Town DHL Stadium.

It is important to clarify that this is a review and not an “investigation”.

Similarly, Airlink is grateful for the enthusiastic appreciation that many people have expressed regarding last Saturday’s Cape Town Stadium flyby as well as the valid questions and concerns raised. However, we never intended to become the news or upstage Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

Be assured that safety was the first consideration at every stage of the process. As with all flybys we have conducted, it demanded careful planning, rehearsal and the authorisation, support and guidance of the (SACAA) and Air Traffic Navigation Services to ensure it was performed safely.

Both aircraft were flown by crews comprising three senior captains (representing over 75,000 combined flight hours of experience) operating in the roles of commander, co-pilot and safety/technical officer. Each pilot holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence, the highest level of commercial pilot qualification.

The flyby was performed safely and due to the unprecedented public interest it created, Airlink, on its own initiative, volunteered to provide the “black box” digital flight data recordings to the SACAA to support its compliance review.

Unlike public flight tracking mobile apps that rely on rudimentary satellite positioning information, the DFDRs on modern commercial jetliners are sophisticated devices able to trace over a thousand parameters and data points to present a precise and complex picture – measured in milliseconds - of every control input, power settings, altitude, horizontal and vertical speed, pitch attitude, acceleration and the visual flight patch along with numerous other readings.

Due to the complexity, the number of parameters and other factors to be examined, it is unrealistic to expect immediate feedback and recommendations from the SACAA. Airlink is, and will continue to support the SACAA with its review process.

Although we have also heard the widespread enthusiasm for a flyby at FNB Stadium this weekend, the forecast weather points to unfavourable conditions for a safe formation flyby. It is on this basis that we withdrew the application for a flyby this Saturday. As a sponsor, it was not Airlink’s intention to detract from the rugby test matches between South Africa and New Zealand. We’re sorry to disappoint fans and supporters but safety comes first and we’re also certain the players will provide more than enough on-field excitement.

de Villiers Engelbrecht
CEO
Airlink
--------

"Having enough pilat hours is what made this safe."
 
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