Moment two airliners nearly hit packed stadium in ‘dangerous’ pre-game flyover is caught on camera
Shocking video captured the frightening moment two airliners appeared to nearly hit a packed sports stadium during a spectacular pre-game flyover.
The footage from Cape Town, South Africa, showed just how extremely low the pair of Airlink Embraer E-Jets flew over the 55,000-seat DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In multiple clips, the aircraft zipped through colourful pyrotechnics blasting off the stadium’s roof as the crowd loudly cheered.
Different angles displayed the back of the planes seemingly coming very close to grazing the roof of the stadium.
The jets were about 41 to 46 feet above the top of DHL Stadium, which stands roughly 164 feet tall near sea level, per FlightRadar.
The flyover happened ahead of the rugby game between the South African Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, which is part of a series that has been labelled ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.’
Airlink is an official partner of the series and praised the ‘spectacular scenes’ it put on at the match.
However, social media users were left aghast at the scenes, calling the stunt ‘dangerous’ and ‘moronic’.
Video captured on Saturday at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, appeared to show an extremely low pre-game flyover
The Airlink Embraer E-Jets jets breezed through colourful pyrotechnics let off at the top of the stadium
Despite the apparent proximity, there was never any indication that a dangerous incident could have happened because of the low-altitude flyover
One online commenter called the flyovers ‘absolutely unnecessary and dangerous.’
‘That was close,’ a second user added, sharing a video where a jet’s wing looked to nearly strike the stadium.
The two jets used in Saturday’s flyover were registered as ZS-YAE and ZS-YDE, according to CPT Aviation.
Both were painted in special green and black colors, respectively, for the occasion.
Another user opined that the flyover ‘could’ve been a MAJOR disaster.’
Another added: ‘I mean, cool but how is that safe?’
Other commenters insisted that the stunt was ‘too dangerous’ and that ‘too many people’s lives were put at risk’ as a result.
‘Some of these people travelled internationally to enjoy the games,’ one user wrote.
But despite the shocked reactions, there was never any indication that anyone was in danger during the awe-inspiring stunt.
In another angle, it looked like the back of one of the jets was close to clipping the 55,00-seat stadium
A photo of the flyover before the game between South Africa and New Zealand. Flyovers have been common for important rugby games in South Africa going back to the 1990s
The jets used during Saturday’s flyover, seen pictured here, were painted in green and black colors especially for the match
Airlink touted the flyover on Saturday after it happened, writing on X: ‘Planning. Precision. Performance.’
Low-altitude flyovers are relatively common for big rugby games in South Africa going back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.
While many viewers were stunned, others defended the flyover calling it ‘beautiful’ or ‘spectacular.’
‘Only the weak of heart and mind will criticise this, but then again, those dudes need a license to go crap in the woods whilst camping,’ another said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Airlink and DHL Stadium for comment.
