Fly Over or Fly Through?

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PHXPhlyer
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Fly Over or Fly Through?

#1 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:32 pm

Dramatic or dangerous? Flyover at Titans game draws scrutiny
'The FAA is following up with the military'


https://www.abc15.com/news/national/dra ... s-scrutiny

Link in article to Twitter videos

It's part of the excitement of a Titans home game — the dramatic military flyover timed exactly for the end of the National Anthem.

But now NewsChannel 5 Investigates has discovered one recent flyover by the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell may have crossed the line — from dramatic to dangerous.

"General reaction, yeah, it was unsafe," said Larry Williams, a retired aviation safety inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration. "It was very dangerous."

A spokesperson for the agency told WTVF, "The FAA is following up with the military about this overflight."

Lt. Col. Kari McEwen, 101st Airborne Division spokesperson, downplayed the concerns.

“The unit that conducted the flyover is in contact with the FAA Nashville," McEwen said. "At this time, there is no scheduled review.”

The Nov. 14 flyover was part of a "Salute to Service" that was intended to honor the men and women who've served our nation.

The flyover occurred before the Titans faced the New Orleans Saints.

But this salute, involving four combat helicopters from the 101st Airborne, was a salute that Tennessee Titans fans will likely never forget.

On its social media, the Titans posted a video from inside the cockpit of one of those helicopters.

Instead of flying over Nissan Stadium, the choppers went through at eye level with fans in the upper decks.

Multiple videos posted to social media showed how the flyover turned into what one veteran pilot called a "fly-in."

"Some people were ABOVE the flyover," one person posted to Twitter.

Another remarked, "That flyover was a little [too] close to knocking down the flags and camera."

Another called it "spooky."

"Don't remember any other flyover when they flew that low."

Larry Williams, the retired aviation safety inspector, noted that FAA rules for military flyovers "should be accomplished at 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle."

What happened here was something Williams had never seen.

Video shot from a nearby high-rise shows how the four helicopters flew down into the stadium and among the fans.

Another video shot from a nearby bar shows the steep climb of the choppers out of the stadium.

But what worried the former FAA inspector was something we spotted that was much harder to see.

When NewsChannel 5 Investigates slowed down the video, the helicopters pass right beneath what appears to be a cable of some sort stretched across the stadium.

"They went under that cable," Williams said. "It appeared just a few feet from there. So if they had just gotten off from altitude a few feet, it would have been a disaster."

From another angle, the cable is clearly visible.

But from the cockpit camera, it's not as easy to see.

"I wonder whether they saw the cable before they got there," Williams said.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "What is the potential with that cable across the stadium?"

"Well," Williams answered, "if you hit the cable, especially with a helicopter, more than likely it would crash."

Just before this story aired, a spokesperson for the Titans responded to WTVF's request for comment, claiming that what appears to be a cable is actually an "optical illusion" associated with cabling for the netting deployed during field goals.

Regardless, what happened at Nissan Stadium on that day with the helicopters flying through the stadium itself, the FAA veteran says, is something that never would have been tolerated by civilian pilots.

If they had been civilians, "most likely those pilots would have had their licenses suspended or revoked," Williams said.

PP

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Re: Fly Over or Fly Through?

#2 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:34 am

A famous flyover which was fully sanctioned by the SACAA back in the day... An emotional iconic moment for every South African in the crowd.



What’s going on here?
It’s 2.34pm on the afternoon of June 25, 1995 and Captain Laurie Kay and a skeleton crew is flying a South African Airways 747 over Ellis Park just minutes before South Africa and New Zealand run out for the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final. Just 90 seconds before – at precisely 2.32 and 45 seconds and approaching the ground from the south – they had completed the first fly-past to the amazement and shock of the 63,000 capacity crowd.

After that first fly-by fans could track the Jumbo on the big screen as it executed a tight but graceful right turn and it became obvious that Captain Kay was coming in for a second run only this time much lower. This time the crowd noise rose to a crescendo that nearly matched the roar of the plane’s four Rolls Royce RB211 engines as Kay gunned them for dramatic effect.

The story behind the picture

South Africa was going nuts. Their team had reached the World Cup Final and the very visible support of President Nelson Mandela for the Boks – the totem pole sport of white South Africa – had sent an important message into the townships and impoverished parts of black South Africa.

The build up to the final was massive, the biggest game in South African rugby history and it was against the old enemy New Zealand who had unearthed a freak of nature and ‘superman’ player in Jonah Lomu (RIP)...

https://www.magzter.com/stories/News/Th ... Ellis-Park

RIP - Laurie Kay
Laurie applied to the South African Air Force but was not successful, being so driven he refused to let this setback kill his dream and applied to every air force in the western world. The Royal Air Force accepted him and he commenced his pilots training in 1967 at RAF Church Fenton, on De Havilland Chipmunks. Laurie's then moved to Jet Provosts at a base called RAF Linton-On-Ouse. He did so well there that he was given the choice of where he wanted to go. Laurie decided to fly helicopters and started training on Bell 47G's
Laurie Kay

Laurie Kay.jpg
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You must have somewhere
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Your destination remains
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Re: Fly Over or Fly Through?

#3 Post by G~Man » Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:35 pm

The FAA inspector is not 100% correct, the rule actually states:
(b) A sanctioned North American military jet demonstration team (United States
Air Force (USAF) Thunderbirds, United States Navy (USN) Blue Angels, or Canadian Forces
Snowbirds), a military single-ship demonstration team (USN, USAF, or Canadian Forces),
or members of the USAF Heritage or USN Tailhook Legacy Flight Programs are authorized to
request an altitude for flyover that is below that set forth in § 91.119(b). If a waiver of § 91.119
or § 91.117 is required for a military flyover, certain conditions must be met, and a CoW must be
issued. Order 8900.1, Volume 3, Chapter 6, Section 1, subparagraph 3-148G lists those
conditions.
(2) Civilian flight less than 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal
radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft is not authorized when a flyover is conducted over an open-air
assembly of persons.
(3) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in § 91.119(b),
if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface and provided
each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed
for helicopters by the FAA.
However, they did fly under a wire, and not sure they actually knew about it:
Screenshot (5).png
B-) Life may not be the party you hoped for, but while you're here, you may as well dance. B-)

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