The passenger planes, two Airlink Embraer 190s, flew over the stadium as fireworks exploded narrowly beneath.
But the pilots flew dangerously close to the stadium roof, with the New Zealand-themed jet almost crashing before lifting up its tail at the last moment.
Following closely behind the South Africa plane flew through the smoke of a pyrotechnic. The incident left fans stunned, with Flight Radar confirming one plane dropped to just 12-14 metres above the top of the stadium.
Airlink aircraft do a flyover in Cape Town ahead of the second All Blacks test against the Springboks.
Flyovers have been a common feature at Springboks matches since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, with one taking place before the first test against the All Blacks last week.
The event set up an entertaining spectacle in Cape Town, with South Africa beating New Zealand 33-26 to level the series 1-1.
‘Approved and rehearsed’
Leon Imber, The Athletic
An airline has defended the safety of a ceremonial flyover at a rugby test match after viral footage caused concern about how low the aircrafts passed over DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.
Flightradar24, a platform which tracks live flight data, calculated that two Airlink planes flew less than 50ft (15m) over the 55,000-capacity stadium before Saturday’s second test match between South Africa and New Zealand. Footage of the flyover went viral on social media, appearing to show the lead aircraft coming closest to the stadium.
Airlink, which also operated a flyover for the first test between the two sides on August 22, said in a statement on Sunday that, according to its flight data, the manoeuvre was performed within the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) “approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits”.
“Airlink notes the concerns expressed in various social media and online forums regarding yesterday’s formation flyby over Cape Town’s DHL Stadium,” a widely reported statement said, via Arrive Alive – a South African transport website.
The statement also said that the “flight demanded careful planning and rehearsal” due to the low altitude and 150-knot (278km/h) speed and that the SACAA and Air Traffic Navigation Services “provided valuable guidance, approval and support” to ensure the flypast took place safely.
It added: “The two aircraft were flown by highly experienced crew, with each comprised of three senior captains operating in the roles of commander, co-pilot and safety/technical officer.”
‘Can appear much closer’
Ella Morrison, New York Post
While one camera angle shows the first jet seemingly skimming the roof of the stadium, another video suggests that there was more space between the jet and the building.
Flight tracking data reportedly indicated the aircraft had a barometric altitude of around 164 feet as it soared above the stadium.
One of the planes pictured above the stadium as fireworks go off. Photo / Photosport
However, [an] aircraft flying near large structures, such as a stadium, can appear much closer to the building than it actually is – particularly when viewed from a low camera angle.
A flyover spectacle can also appear much more dramatic when an aircraft changes pitch.
‘A lot more clearance’
Mateusz Maszczynski, PYOK
Camera angles can be deceiving. And it’s hard to truly tell just how close the aircraft was to the stadium’s roof. For example, footage taken from the other side of the stadium would suggest that there was a lot more clearance between the planes and the stadium.
ZS-YDE departed Cape Town International Airport (CPT) at around 2pm on August 29 and entered a holding pattern over Robben Island until it was time to perform the jaw-dropping fly-past. Data supplied by Flight Radar 24 suggests the aircraft had a barometric altitude of 50 metres as it flew over the DHL Stadium and a GPS altitude of 925 feet.
Given that the DHL Stadium has a reported height of 164 feet, the actual clearance is likely to have been a lot more than some video footage suggests.
‘Dangerously close to disaster’
Jorg Luyken, Telegraph
A fly-past over a rugby test match in South Africa has caused alarm after video footage appeared to show the tail of one of the planes almost touching the stadium roof.
Two aircraft operated by South African carrier Airlink performed a flypast over DHL Stadium in Cape Town before the match between the hosts and New Zealand on Saturday.
Video broadcast on local television appeared to show the planes, each painted in the colours of the rival nations, flying very close to the stadium roof.
The lead aircraft appeared to adjust its height at the last moment, with its tail dipping towards the roof. The second plane then flew through pyrotechnics being set off around the stadium.
The footage went viral on social media, with some users claiming the manoeuvre came dangerously close to causing a disaster.
However, video taken from other angles appeared to show a larger gap between the aircraft and the stadium.
Airlink issued a statement on Sunday saying that the flypast had been carefully planned and that the aircraft remained within the permitted limits at all times.
‘Viewers worried’
Henry Tomlinson, Sun
Two planes terrified fans during their flyover ahead of South Africa’s rugby clash with New Zealand.
The two nations were facing off in the second test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
There have been mixed views of the flyover during the second test in Cape Town. Photo / Shaun Roy, action press
Before kickoff, there was a flyover at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. But these weren’t your usual Red Arrows or fighter jets.
Instead, two massive passenger planes, Airlink Embraer 190s to be exact, cruised overhead. And the jets left little to no margin for error, leaving viewers worried they would clip the stadium roof.
Fans were left stunned when the first plane flew staggeringly low over the stands. And the second aircraft was cutting it so fine that its right wing clearly cut through the smoke from one pyrotechnic.
Flightradar later confirmed the planes cleared the stadium roof by just 12m. So it’s hardly surprising fans in the stadium were left feeling terrified.
Many could be seen to criticise the display as unsafe and dangerous, considering the crowd in the stadium.