Posted on 04/13/2026 9:08:57 AM PDT by xxqqzz
Was it a descent into madness?
An Icelandair pilot has been ripped as reckless after flying a Boeing 757 dangerously low above his hometown to celebrate his retirement, as seen in shocking footage taking off online.
“This is not standard practice; this is a very serious matter that we will review internally,” Linda Gunnarsdóttir, a chief pilot with the airline, told local media while discussing his harebrained last hurrah.
The veteran airman in question, Captain Ólafur Bragason, 65, had reportedly been embarking on his final flight — a trip to from Frankfurt to Keflavik — after four decades in the industry, Iceland media reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Or going under a bridge......
I’ve seen/heard C-130s fly over my old home at several hundred feet. They were on mosquito spraying missions. I came running out of my house to see WTH was that. Several decades ago.
Dunno. What’re their laws? Criminal recklessness? Terroristic threatening? I’m sure they’ll think of something.
not as low as really really low.
Yes, Lindberg was always interesting to fly into. The approach corridor, of course meets FAA standards, but the buildings look really close out of the left side of the jet when landing to the west…..really impressive at night.
The first law of aviation: At all times during flight the indicated altitude must be equal to or higher than the MSL altitude of the terrain you are flying over. Everything else is secondary.
I know it’s illegal in Iceland to name your baby an unapproved name...
In these really far left countries, you can get jammed up with the law for speeding worse than if you rape someone!
Don’t underestimate what they can do to this guy.
They will find some hysterical woman crying on the camera that tells her shrink she has nightmares from this and use that to go after him... Who knows.
There is no real law.
The head of the airlines should have received that flight, congratulated him, and said “thank you for being an a$$hole and causing me a huge headache out the door. You had your party over your village and you invited everyone, even the international press, goodbye.”
High Flight with FAA supplement
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth(1),
And danced(2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed(3) and joined the tumbling mirth(4)
Of sun-split clouds(5) and done a hundred things(6)
You have not dreamed of — Wheeled and soared and swung(7)
High in the sunlit silence(8). Hov’ring there(9)
I’ve chased the shouting wind(10) along and flung(11)
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious(12), burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights(13) with easy grace,
Where never lark, or even eagle(14) flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space(15),
Put out my hand(16), and touched the face of God.
NOTE:
1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before aircraft taxi or flight is attempted.
2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seatbelts fastened. Crew should wear shoulderbelts as provided.
3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.
4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.
5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.
6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.
7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.
8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.
9. “Hov’ring there” will constitute a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent.
10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.
11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.
12. Should any crewmember or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report upon flight termination.
13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.
14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the FAA and the appropriate aircraft maintenance facility.
15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain in IFR flight regardless of meteorlogical conditions and visibility.
16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure.
The plane was about 300 feet high.
Exactly. This flight wasn’t dangerous - simply outside the permitted envelope.
“Lighten up, Francis.”
65? I’d say “Happy Birthday!” - the government simply says, “You’re too old. You are fired!”
It was probably perfectly safe for a pilot that experienced but I would have headed for the bathroom.
I know a guy who aileron-rolled a B727-100 on a ferry flight over the ocean.
You might add the one about mountain goats in the clouds.
You’re too low Ted, you’re too low!
He literally flew directly over an airport, who gives a f***?
— SKS (@StevenKSaImon) April 12, 2026
“...and he was really low....
How much lower than low is really low?
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