A passenger jet pilot sparked fury in Iceland after flying a Boeing 757 at an ‘alarmingly low’ altitude above his hometown to celebrate his retirement.
The pilot had been carrying out his final commercial flight after 40 years in service over Vestmannaeyjar, a volcanic archipelago off southern Iceland, on Saturday.
Residents of the small island and passengers on board the flight from Frankfurt to Iceland were left startled when the pilot descended to just 100m over the community before landing at Keflavik International Airport.
Icelandair has since reported the veteran pilot to the police after he made the unauthorised low-altitude flyover, which was believed to have been carried out as a personal farewell to his childhood home.
Chief Flight Officer Linda Gunnarsdóttir said she believes the passengers on board the flight were told about the sightseeing pass during the flight, but Icelandair has yet to confirm this.
Footage taken by residents of Vestmannaeyjar showed the huge jet appearing to cruise at hill level and fly at a terrifyingly low height over house roofs and treetops.
Locals in the area later told reporters that they had experienced noticeable noise and vibration as the aircraft passed overhead.
Some even told of how they felt alarmed, fearing the plane was about to crash when they saw it flying so close to the town.
Gunnarsdóttir emphasised to local media that the pilot had carried out the manoeuvre without knowledge or permission of the airline.
‘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,’ Gunnarsdóttir said.
‘This is not standard practice; this is a very serious matter that we will review internally,’ she added.
Gunnarsdóttir said such actions are not customary when Icelandair pilots fly their final flights, but have been known to occur in the past.
‘This has happened from time to time, but it is by no means standard practice and not something we would have authorised,’ she confirmed to local outlet Iceland Monitor.
Flyovers are a tradition associated with military aircraft, which typically carry a maximum of five passengers, though they are not necessarily carried out at a low altitude.
Due to the risks involved, they are not usually carried out by passenger jet pilots on commercial flights in Boeing 757s, which can seat around 200 people.
Icelandair went on to express regret over the incident.
‘We apologise to the residents of Vestmannaeyjar if they have been disturbed,’ Gunnarsdóttir told the local outlet Visir.
Icelandair has not indicated whether additional disciplinary actions will be taken internally, but the police investigation remains ongoing.
The 757-200 involved is a long-serving type within Icelandair’s fleet, often used on transatlantic and European routes.
