Top British Pilot Fired...fly-by..28 Feet From The Ground

[LaoPo]

CATHAY PACIFIC's NEW BOEING 777-300ER Maiden Flight: Seattle - Hong Kong, January 30, 2008

Top British pilot fired for performing 320mph 'fly-by' just 28 feet from the ground - in a jumbo full of VIPs

by SIMON PARRY Last updated at 13:52pm on 25th February 2008

Captain Wilkinson flew the passenger jet just 28ft above the runway

Hurtling along at 320mph, the passenger jet was just 28ft above the runway - with its landing gear raised.

However, this was no emergency, but a stunt by one of Britain's most senior pilots.

Captain Ian Wilkinson performed the astonishing "fly-by" manoeuvre to entertain VIP passengers on the maiden flight of the 230-ton Boeing 777-300ER.

The stunt was whooped and cheered by spectators at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and the pilot was given a champagne toast after landing in Hong Kong.

But 55-year-old Captain Wilkinson was fired from his £250,000-a-year job with the Cathay Pacific airline after footage of the incident was posted on websites including YouTube.

An airline insider said: "He is a very senior captain nearing the end of a highly-distinguished career but he seems to have thrown it all away for a moment of madness."

Captain Wilkinson, who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years, was the chief pilot for Cathay Pacific's Boeing 777 fleet and in charge of a team of hundreds. Among his 30 passengers on the fateful flight was the airline's British chairman, Chris Pratt, CBE.

After taking off from the Boeing plant, the captain wheeled the huge £100million jet around and swooped over the runway with undercarriage raised.

The celebration of the maiden flight in Hong Kong: Captain Wilkinson is second right, his co-pilot third from right and chairman Pratt back, centre

He was congratulated on arrival at Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong HQ and even pictured in the airline newsletter raising a glass with executives in celebration of the maiden flight.

After film appeared on the internet, Captain Wilkinson was suspended ahead of a disciplinary hearing last week when he was dismissed.

His British co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, who is understood to have taken instructions from Captain Wilkinson and to have been unaware that the fly-by was unauthorised, was suspended from training duties for six months.

Captain Wilkinson did not return calls for comment yesterday. He is understood to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.

A spokesman for Cathay Pacific said that the fly-by had been approved by air traffic controllers in Seattle after a call from the pilot but not by the airline, which was the reason Captain Wilkinson had been sacked.

Another senior pilot with the airline said: "Wilkinson was very much one of the elite in Cathay Pacific and would have been very chummy with the airline executives he was flying that day.

"If no one else had found out about it, the incident would probably have gone no further. But once it began circulating on the internet and Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department got wind of it, that was the end of him.

"Maiden flights are treated as a bit of a jolly for executives with lots of champagne flowing and these fly-bys used to be done for a wheeze in the old days.

"But they are dangerous because however good the pilot thinks he is, he isn't trained for it and the planes aren't designed for it.

"Wilkinson was showing off, and most of the pilots might be sympathetic but they feel he got what he deserved when he was sacked."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...70&ito=1490

Note:

THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL VIDEO THAT POSTED TO YOUTUBE. That video was pulled. This is just a different version of the same event to show what transpired. This video was made from single frames taken with a DSLR, sorry for the crude framerate. Comment from the YouTube poster, Liem Bahneman.

The actual photo's were made by Liem Bahneman as mentioned in the 1st photo, above.

LaoPo

[seonai]

Crazzzzzeeeeee

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Crazzzzzeeeeee

He's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Who, me ?]

That's an expensive toy, full of human lives, (VIP or not, who cares), and it is a very risky show off. I understand the pilot is very experimented, but this "demonstration" is not the kind of thing that is risk free. He should have thought of a similar exercise attempted by a French pilot on an Airbus, which ended with a crash in the forest. Circumstances were different, but result was that a plane went down, some passengers were killed, other injured, a company embarrassed, and a good plane with a damaged reputation. And all this during a "routine" commercial flight

Good that the pilot has been removed from service.

[LaoPo]

Mr. Liem Bahneman *, the man/plane spotter who took the pictures, wrote this on his website:

"Lunch at Paine... what an hour!

Quite a hullaballo over at the Future of Flight museum for the delivery flight of Cathay Pacific B-KPF, as it was parked on their ramp and there was a large party on their deck.

The 777 rolled out and departed with a traditional wing-rock before disappearing in the low overcast. Minutes later, the new Emirates SkyCargo 747-400F requested permission to do a high speed test, but when asked if they wanted to keep their flight plan open, they said "probably not". So no flight today.

Moments after it finished its run, I heard someone whistle and looked out and saw B-KPF in bound for a flyby. Got in position just in time to see it do its low pass. Very exciting, and it generated cheers from the crowd at the FoF. (Future Of Flight Museum, LP)

Then, out popped the JAL 767 for its first flight.

Update February 24, 2008:

Apprentely this Captain of this flight was later fired for failing to notify the airline of this "top gun" stunt."

Note:

When Liem Bahneman saw the Cathay Pacific B-KPF, 777-300ER leave and disappear high in the air, he took 18 (!) pictures of the other plane (the new Emirates SkyCargo 747-400F) performing a high speed taxi test......

.............when suddenly he "heard someone whistle and looked out and saw B-KPF in bound for a flyby"....and he took 22 photos of that event, see below.

Must have been quite something for the people watching as well as the VIP's on board...

* http://photos.bahneman.com/Planespotting/2...nuary_30_2008//

LaoPo

Edited February 26, 2008 by LaoPo

[tartempion]

Ridiculous decision from Cathay Pacific management.

When Cargolux Airlines first B747/400F was flown to Luxembourg the chief pilot did the same with the company's president, Sten Grotenfell on board.

Most of CV's personel was standing besides the runway (myself included) to see (to our surprise) the bird fly over low and make a turn around.

So, because this stunt went public the man got fired eh!

All have forgotten what our CL44's pilots dared to do in the earlier years of the comapny , all of them would have lost their licenses

Edited February 26, 2008 by tartempion

[LaoPo]

Ridiculous decision from Cathay Pacific management.

When Cargolux Airlines first B747/400F was flown to Luxembourg the chief pilot did the same with the company's president, Sten Grotenfell on board.

Most of CV's personel was standing besides the runway (myself included) to see (to our surprise) the bird fly over low and make a turn around.

So, because this stunt went public the man got fired eh!

All have forgotten what our CL44's pilots dared to do in the earlier years of the comapny , all of them would have lost their licenses

Maybe Cathay Pacific Management forgot how dangerous Kai Tak was.......

I had the non-pleasure, experiencing many dangerous landings on Kai Tak...sweaty hands I'll tell you.

LaoPo

[Who, me ?]

Kai Tak....sweet and sweat memories !!

Whoever landed there will never forget. Did it many many times, never got bored.....But what a thrill ! Definitely not one of the safest airports....on the paper ;-)

[game4shame]

But 55-year-old Captain Wilkinson was fired from his £250,000-a-year job with the Cathay Pacific airline after footage of the incident was posted on websites including YouTube.

£250k pa? 55 years old? I smell a little pre-retirement fun.

I'm sure he's got enough tucked away without looking for another job.

captain wilkinson - soon to be found chilling on a beach near you.

[Kan Win]

Nice post "LaoPo", reading your post and sitting here by the West Runway in Swampy Land.

East Runway out of order so take offs and landings are thick and fast, but no "fly-by's" as yet.

Could be one tomorrow however at around 10.00 am when a certain TG flight from China arrives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lovely view by the way today and me camera is with me as always.

Yours truly,

Kan Win, reporting from “Suvarnabhumi Airport West Runway Office View”

[samran]

Maverick: Ah approach, permission to to buzz the tower.

Tower: Negative ghostrider, the pattern is full.

cue Top Gun guitar solo.

Great, great movie.