‘Not going to end well’: South Africans scrap ‘electric’ stadium flyover
A low-altitude flyover by two Airlink passenger jets at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium is being reviewed by South African aviation authorities after it drew safety concerns.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority said it had obtained flight data recordings and requested additional information from regional carrier Airlink as part of its assessment.
Two planes flew only metres above the stadium roof ahead of the second Test between the Springboks and All Blacks. Getty Images
A full report with recommendations will be issued once the review is complete.
“It is therefore critical that we interrogate this past weekend’s events… to determine if there were any safety concerns which warrant a review,” the agency said.
Airlink has cancelled plans for another flyover at the upcoming rugby Test in Soweto, according to the SACAA, which is responsible for regulating aviation safety and security.
The flyover ahead of the Springboks vs All Blacks match on Sunday (AEST) drew huge cheers from an estimated crowd of about 56,000, but also sparked a debate over the safety risks after video footage by spectators inside and around the stadium spread online.
Deandra Peters, 25, a pilot and aviation enthusiast attending her first live rugby match, said the crowd in the stadium was electrified by the spectacle in a way that was difficult to capture on video.
“You can watch the planes fly over, but you can’t recreate what it felt like to be inside a stadium full of Springbok supporters absolutely losing their minds,” she said.
“The atmosphere was electric - the noise, the pride, the emotion. It was a very uniquely South African moment.”
Airlink said the manoeuvre had been carefully planned and rehearsed, and that safety was “the first consideration at every stage of the process.“
It said each aircraft had three senior captains aboard, with more than 75,000 combined flight hours across the crews.
Earlier this week, Airlink had provided the data from the airplanes’ black boxes to the civil aviation authority for review.
The SACAA said it would examine flight data to determine whether any safety concerns warranted a review.
The airline acknowledged the enthusiasm generated by the spectacle while also recognising what it described as the “valid questions and concerns” that followed.
“We never intended to become the news or upstage Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry,” Airlink chief executive de Villiers Engelbrecht said.
The regulator said the airline had made applications for three flyovers.
The most recent one in Cape Town was the second, while the first flyover took place in Johannesburg on August 23.
Both were approved in line with the requirements for special air events.
Airlink has withdrawn its application for a flyover scheduled for this Sunday (AEST) over Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium.
The airline said forecast weather conditions were unfavourable for a safe formation flyby.
The fly over at DHL Stadium. Getty Images
SACAA confirmed that the application had been withdrawn.
South African rugby has a long tradition of stadium flybys at major matches, dating back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, when a Boeing 747 swept over Ellis Park before the Springboks faced the All Blacks.
Last weekend’s flyby was unusually low and dramatic, drawing international attention, with some aviation experts later questioning whether the aircraft had left too little margin for error.
“The bigger picture is that a benchmark has been established and others may expect to do something similar, and that’s not going to end well,” Australian aviation consultant Keith Tonkin said.
He added that turbulence or a bird strike at such a low altitude could leave the pilots with too little room to manoeuvre without hitting the stadium.
Meanwhile, on the rugby field, the series is locked at 1-1 and Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus is furious at All Blacks rival Dave Rennie questioning his team’s scrummaging.
“We’re not f---ing walking around. We scrum through. We’ve never, ever, ever been accused of walking around, so I don’t understand,” Erasmus said.
Rassie Erasmus. Twitter
“It’s the first time in history that these people are talking about us walking around. So why would we want to start walking around now?
“Once you put a narrative out like that, everybody starts focusing on that, all media, all podcasts, and a lot have got no knowledge about scrums.”
Erasmus had empathy for Rennie's mind games because he believed coaches were constrained by World Rugby protocols about raising issues post-match.
Erasmus added he had his own grievances about the All Blacks' play but didn't want to air them through the media.
“I’ve been burned for that before,” he said.
He was suspended twice by World Rugby for referee criticisms in 2021 and 2022.
Former Springboks coach Nick Mallett said it would be disappointing if the to and fro between the coaches distracted from the series.
“You see a strength in the opposition, and you try to negate it,” Mallett told the Talking Boks podcast.
“You try and use everything, not only through coaching but also through chatting about, ‘Is it legal? How do they manage to get (advantage)?’ Every coach does it.”
Meanwhile, Erasmus made essentially one enforced change to the team from last weekend’s win, switching Cheslin Kolbe to fullback for the injured Damian Willemse, and filling the wing spot with Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Willemse and other injured backs Handré Pollard, Grant Williams and Canan Moodie will be fit to fly to Baltimore for the fourth test next week, Erasmus added.
“We're desperate to make sure we don't go to Baltimore to play for a (series) draw,” he said.
The All Blacks will name their team on Thursday night (AEST).
South Africa: Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (c), Ruan Nortjé, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché
Reserves: Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, André Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morne van den Berg, Manie Libbok
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