Saturday, July 2, 2011

An insanely low pass!


Readers may be familiar with this video clip of an Argentine Air Force FMA IA 63 Pampa trainer making an insanely low pass over an airfield in that country. Watch it in full-screen mode for maximum impact.







The aircraft looks to have been no more than a foot or two off the ground. The burnt streak left across the grass by its engines bears mute testimony to how low it came! Just look at the grass as the camera pans back to it, after the aircraft has gone.

Now Gizmodo has published a video clip taken by the pilot of that aircraft, showing the low pass from his perspective. I can't embed it here, but if you click on the Gizmodo link, you can watch it there. I recommend viewing it in full-screen mode as well.

EDITED TO ADD: Thanks to Comrade Misfit, who found a copy of the Gizmodo video on YouTube, I can embed that one here too. Here it is - the same low pass, from the pilot's perspective.







Either that pilot has great big brass ones, and flying skills to match . . . or he's certifiably insane! Who knows? He may be both!





Peter

8 comments:

TJIC said...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD.

He couldn't have been more than three feet above the dirt.

I wonder if those guys bleached their underwear afterwards, or just threw it away as unsalvageable?

Zdogk9 said...

"that pilot has great big brass ones, and flying skills to match . . . and he's certifiably insane!"

Fixed it for you.

Old NFO said...

Both... :-) Damn good thing he didn't sneeze!

Old NFO said...

One other thing, if you look at his HUD, he 'thinks' he's at 10 feet!!!

perlhaqr said...

Wow. Looking at the other link, the guys on the ground had to dodge both directions. That would have been a hell of a FOD issue...

Comrade Misfit said...

A little hunting found second video on YouTube.

Here, that guy would not be allowed within a mile of an airplane. He'd be driving a desk in Alaska.

Anonymous said...

Stupid, just stupid.

Antibubba

SwiftFallHunter said...

The fool should be pulled off flight status and even court-martialed after endangering himself, others, his aircraft, and the property seen in the footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKwgvNDX1g4
is an example of another pilot out of control who ended up killing others. This wasn't cool, it was reckless endangerment.