FINAL DESTINATION | Icelandair pilot under investigation for flying low over his hometown on his farewell flight
The airline has apologised and reported the pilot to police after the plane was filmed skimming rooftops in a stunt passengers loved but the company did not authorise.
An Icelandair pilot used their final flight before retirement to perform a dramatic unauthorised flyover of an Icelandic island town, bringing a packed commercial aircraft dangerously close to buildings.
The stunt that has landed the aviator in serious trouble.
The incident occurred on Saturday, April 11, when a scheduled Icelandair service from Frankfurt to Keflavík deviated from its flight path to swoop low across Heimaey, the main island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off Iceland's south coast.
Video footage captured from the ground showed the aircraft flying at an alarmingly low altitude over the town's rooftops, prompting shock from residents below.
Icelandair's chief flight officer Linda Gunnarsdóttir told Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV the company treated the incident with the utmost seriousness. Gunnarsdóttir confirmed the flyover was neither sanctioned nor communicated to airline management in advance.
She confirmed the flight was the pilot's last before retirement — suggesting the low pass may have been intended as a farewell gesture gone wrong.
The airline has since issued a formal apology to residents of the island community.
The case grew more complicated on Sunday when it emerged that passengers on board had been told about the flyover before it happened.
Iceland's air navigation service Avians confirmed the pilot had requested permission to divert from the standard flight path, and that approval was granted.
Passengers, far from alarmed, were reportedly thrilled by the experience.
"It was a wonderful experience," one traveller told RÚV, adding that the cabin erupted in applause for the pilot after the low pass was completed.
Despite the enthusiastic reception at 30,000 feet, Icelandair's executive team was far less impressed on the ground.
Senior vice president of flight operations Arnar Már Magnússon circulated a company-wide email condemning the flyover in blunt terms, making clear such conduct would not be tolerated regardless of the circumstances.
According to RÚV, the airline's legal team has formally reported the incident to Icelandic police, and a full investigation is now underway.
The case raises questions about how the diversion was approved by air traffic control yet apparently carried out without the airline's knowledge or consent, and whether existing protocols are adequate to prevent similar stunts on commercial flights.
Vestmannaeyjar, home to roughly 4500 people, is one of Iceland's most recognisable communities, famous for the 1973 volcanic eruption that forced the evacuation of the entire island.
The investigation into the retiring pilot's final flight is ongoing.
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