Two passenger planes miss hitting stadium roof by less than 40 feet during tense flyover
Two passenger planes miss hitting stadium roof by less than 40 feet during tense flyover
Sahil Kurup Sun, August 30, 2026 at 2:37 AM UTC
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Two Airlink passenger jets shocked South Africa and New Zealand rugby fans -Credit:X/CaptSpringbok
Two Airlink passenger jets sent shockwaves through South African rugby fans Saturday after performing a dramatically low flyover of DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The two jets cleared the venue's roof by a margin of less than 40 feet, as flight-tracking data confirmed. The flyover took place ahead of the second Test between South Africa and New Zealand in the "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry" series, with two specially painted, all-green Airlink Embraer 190 jets sweeping over the 55,000-capacity stadium just before kickoff.
Footage broadcast live on national television showed the first aircraft appearing to skim dangerously close to the stadium's roof, with its tail dipping even lower as the plane pitched upward. It comes after an entire pickleball team lost their lives in horror plane crash on the way to a tournament.
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The second jet's wing appeared to slice directly through smoke rising from pregame pyrotechnics.
Flightradar24 confirmed via ADS-B data that the lowest recorded altitude during the flyover was 50 feet at standard pressure, translating to roughly 205 to 210 feet above mean sea level once corrected for local atmospheric pressure.
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With DHL Stadium standing approximately 164 feet tall near sea level, that placed the aircraft only about 41 to 46 feet, or 12.5 to 14 meters, above the top of the stadium. The planes were traveling at roughly 120 knots, or 131 mph, at the time.
Low-altitude flyovers have a long tradition in South African sports history, dating back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
A South African Airways Boeing 747 famously roared over a packed Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg ahead of South Africa's match against New Zealand.
Airlink was announced in June as the official airline of "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry," serving as both the tour's flyover performer and the exclusive carrier for both national squads, coaches and support staff throughout the series.
The two jets cleared the stadium roof by just 12 meters -Credit:X/CaptSpringbok
The two jets involved on Saturday, registered ZS-YAE and ZS-YDE, were specially liveried in green for the occasion.
One aircraft departed Cape Town International Airport and circled over Robben Island before timing its approach for the flypast.
On the field, South Africa won the match 33-26 behind tries from Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, and captain Siya Kolisi, leveling the series 1-1 ahead of the next Test in Soweto on Sept. 5.
The New Zealand Herald and other outlets reported no incidents or injuries connected to the flyover itself.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
