CAL pilots grounded over air display

| 20/02/2009

(CNS): Updated— Two Cayman Airways pilots and an air traffic controller have been suspended from duty while an investigation into an air display marking the retirement of an aircraft from the National Flag Carrier’s fleet is underway. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) confirmed yesterday that it is investigating a report regarding a low-flying Cayman Airways aircraft. As the investigation is on-going, details of the report cannot be disclosed at this time,” the Authority said.

Neither the CAACI nor Cayman Airways have offered any details of when the incident took place. Not have they stated who if anyone was in danger or who the people involved are. However, CNS understands it is connected to the air display performed on 23 January of this year when CAL retired its B737 200 from the fleet. Although unconfirmed, it is said that during the traditional farewell the pilots flew very low over the runway at Owen Roberts International.

CNS understands there are no specific rules governing the height at which aircraft can or can’t fly in the vicinity of the aerodrome. But a low pass should only be initiated when an aircraft is in difficulty or if it has been agreed with Air Traffic Control. CNS learned this was agreed on this occasion. However, it has now been deemed following the circualtion of pictures taken at the event that the authorities became concerned that the low flyby may have been unsafe.


 

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Well all I can add to what I’ve already said here in support of the ATC and pilots is GREAT FLY-BY GUYS!!!!!!!! If it had to end that way then I sure as heck know you all ended it with a BANG! No pun intended!!:) My only regret here is that I wasn’t there in person to witness it!!! The pictures are awesome and  I’m going to hold on to them for a long long time to come..

    To the person that wrote the very long message in the pilots and ATC’s defense…I did get my drink and sit back and read!:) It was a well informed, good read! It’s such a shame the plug has now been pulled on fly-bys….but hey it ended BEAUTIFULLY!!!  

  2. Anonymous says:

    The last fly-by!!

    Hope you all enjoyed it guys. There won’t be any more fly-bys like that. It was a "tradition" when welcoming or saying goodbye to CAL aircraft. The bureaucrats have stepped in and that is the end of that. I understand procedures are now in place to eliminate anything except "standard operating procedures".

    Ho-hum…back to our desks…..

    GREAT FLY-BY, guys….I am proud of CAL!!!

     

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    People on this thread seem to be very one minded about this incident.

    Firstly let me just say that I am a tourist that comes down regularly to these Islands and Cayman Airways are to me, one of my highlights of my trips everytime! Now I know some of you are now thinking "oh he is not from here what does it matter to you what happens" but here is my 2 cents.

     

    Fly-Bys have been going on for years and years. It is only a handful of these events (and i mean an extremely small number) that something goes wrong and there is a great loss. However normally at fly-bys, the Crew are doing something extremely hazardous to the aircraft and what happens is that they push the aircraft over the limit and then everything goes wrong from here on.

    The people here that are saying this was dangerous and complaining that if this aircraft had a problem then they would of crashed into the hospital and schools and a heavy populated area and they crew and Air traffic controller should be fired. However why is it that these people then dont find an aircraft coming in normally to land dangerous???

    It has just the same amount of chance to have a problem and crash into these areas. So why is this fly-by the only aircraft that seems the be threatening the Hospital and Schools….. etc?????

    From looking at the picture it is at its lowest right beside the Airport Terminal. Now from looking at Google Earth that is still around 1.5 miles away from the Hospital and Schools. He is also climbing away by the time he leaves the Runway vacinity and as someone as already posted, he is probably higher up than when the Airport has to operate when the winds mean they use the runway the other way. Do you feel unsafe when that also happens????

    Also the people that say that this stunt would be better done if it was the aircraft had flown the other way i think are not thinking about obsticles that lie underneath the flight path. If the pilot tried to get in that low coming in from West to East then i think there would of been an accident as the pilot would of really needed to decend a lot faster to get down that low. He was able to use the North Sound to get in a lot lower (and therefore make this fly by extremely low!) and pull up in time before he would be in risk of hitting any thing that may be a hazard for an aircraft departing East to West.

    In my own opinion, this is a storm in ateacup and if these photos were not taken and emailed around to people then we wouldnt of heard a single thing. Also it seems that politics may be getting in the way as when Cayman Airways unveilded the new colours there were a lot more people there and that flyby was low and nothing was ever done or reported.

    To those out there that seem to think they know everything then i hope that you are posting as a real life ATC or pilot as until you know what it is like to walk in their shoes, then you know nothing and cant be making rash decissions out there about firing the pilots and the ATC staff.

     

     

  4. Anonymous says:

    There is alot to read here, so grab a drink and read, take your time, I will attempt to address a majority of issues here but speak on behalf of myself and nobody else.

       Firstly, for those saying that this was staged, last time I checked nearly every airline in the world does something special when they retire an aircraft. Each time KX has retired a 732 it has done a fly-by, along with, as has been said, the aquisition of our first 733 in the new livery. Some lower then others, but all the same principal.

       Secondly, the facts, this was Cayman Airways last B737-200, AND the last aircraft they own in the old livery. The retirement of this aircraft was very important, 732’s are a dying breed in the aviation industry today, we were lucky to hold on to ours as long as we did, also, no longer will we see this old livery, this retirment carried alot of sentimental value for alot of people. Even those who weren’t particalarly into flying and aviation, this aircraft was the last with Sir Turtle on the tail, and (for what I know) will be the last time we ever see that livery ever again.

       Thirdly, "what if" who cares what if? It didn’t happen, that is what matters. Those dropping the "what if" statements must surely realise that they hold no weight what so ever. When the plane departed runway 08 that day, what if it encountered a bird strike? What if the plane crashed? Point is that it didn’t, and you cannot change the past, nothing bad came of the flight, the fly-by, the retirement and that is that, there is always room for speculation but to base a serious opinion on "what if" is just silly.

       Fourthly, "What about the noise from the helicopter at night flying low with no lights" it is nearly common knowledge that they helicopter operates at night for the police, searching for drug boats etc. This is the reason behind the no running lights and low flying, why they use a helo I do not know, but this is the reasoning behind these antics.

       Fifthly,

    "I Believe this was a Ridiculous Stunt."

    – This is actually a common procedure done nearly on the daily somewhere in the world.

    "Considering this was a Friday at midday or so"

    – You base this on what? The fact that it is daylight? Give me a break. This was performed relatively early in the morning.

    "Its speed cannot be determined from the photos but was obviously sufficient for flight"

    – Once again, you cannot tell the speed from a photo yes, but this aircraft was completely empty, she had reached her maximum cycles and therefore was not legally permitted to carry passengers, in fact, from what I know all seats were removed as well, therefore she was very light and could have been flying anywhere from 150knts to 230knts.

    "I am sure that the simplest error, pilot depth perception and judgment or sudden lost of lift due to an air anomaly, would have been catastrophic not only for the island and thousands of people to the west."

    – Commercial aircraft are fitted with something called a "GPWS" Ground Proximity Warning System, as you descend below a given altitude, on these aircraft typically 2,500ft a "callout" will sound with "2500", "1000", "500", "400", "300", Minimums, "200", "100", "50, 40, 30, 20, 10" Therefore depth perception wouldn’t necessarily come in to full effect as there is a fall back, and this system is incredibly accurate. As for judgement etc, we are back to "what if". These gentlemen fly into Owen Roberts roughly3 times daily, I think they would know what to expect on the approach, and landing as well as we would know how to pull out of a drive-way.

    "I believe the ATC who gave permission for this should loose their job if they understood the proximity to the ground that this aircraft was going to be in"

    What if once again. Permission was given for the fly-by, how is an Air Traffic controller supposed to know the pilots true intentions? They would decide their own course of action, not an individual in a control tower. Ultimately it is the pilots responsibilty, and they are the one’s who know the capabilties of their aircraft the best of course.

    "It clearly increased the public threat to thousands of people of George town."

    – Clearly you are delusional. The threat would have been immediate to what, the birds off of the threshold of 08, the cricket pitch (empty at that time) a few trees, fences, and cars that would have been crossing the end of the runway at that time, this is exactly the same as if a plane lands on runway 26 and over-runs the runway, it will do the same thing, there are hardly "Thousands" of people at risk, you are basically saying that they could have some how homed in on the heart of George Town and killed thousands of tourists, fact is they would have stopped quickly and caused damage to the surrounding terrain sure, but by no means "thousands" of people.

    "If you would like to see what this may have looked like see this video. Do you think that looks safe out over Smith road on a Friday midday?"

    – Yes another "What if" scenario, give me a break.

    "This just gives another joke for the world to laugh at our island about. It is a disgrace in which those pilots have done and have ruined our national flag carriers reputation which it has for being ranked the top safest airline in the world."

    Go back to school little guy, get your education and become a pilot for one of the best airlines in the world, what has been done here is history in the making, these pilots will never forget the experience they had here, regardless of the outcome, and you will be proud to fly with them when you grow up.

    "Personally, I think my grandmother can photoshop better than that."

    – Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial

    "This airplane had gear and flaps up and was flying very fast"

    – Proof?

    "If this plane had ingested a bird from that west end of the runway where they tend to congregate, we would be posting condolences here."

    – If a large tree had uprooted outside of the Ritz and flown onto the runway they could have hit it.

    As written in the article "CNS understands there are no specific rules governing the height at which aircraft can or can’t fly in the vicinity of the aerodrome. But a low pass should only be initiated when an aircraft is in difficulty or if it has been agreed with Air Traffic Control."

    – ATC permitted it.

       For those afraid to board a Cayman Airways plane in the future, good, don’t. If your intelligence and overall outlook on life is so narrow that you can be influenced by something so simple, then you don’t deserve to be in a pressurized metal tube with the rest of us. If you are honestly expecting the rest of us to believe that in an island evactuation scene you will not take a flight on Cayman Airways because of a procedure they performed where nobody was hurt then you really are unbelievably dense.

      I am sure the pilots had regret after flying by, perhaps they even surprised themselves how low they actually went, but everything else is down to "what if". I think they need to raise a point and use this incident as an example for the future. Rules have to be set governing the height of an approved fly-by, direction, speed etc. Same with ATC, ensure that it is clearly layed out and there are set procedures so that everything is set in place.

    I think we all need to give credit where it is due, outstanding work to the pilots for pulling of this incredible feat, thank-you to the air traffic controller for allowing it, and thanks to the photographer for being able to capture it all. Let’s use this as an example for future procedures, let us be thankful once again that nothing went wrong, and let us be proud of our national airline.

    Just my $1.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Its is very surprising to see some of the negative remarks posted. So for all of you that are playing pilots talking about these guys not being trained to do high speed low passes.  What is the differance of a plane coming from miami and on final into cayman and has an emergency and has to go around at the last minute and is not able to climb out quickly and has to use more power to graduly climb. I know then people would then not make remarks like controller and pilot should lose there licence but would be praising them for a job well done for saving you or your loved ones life . For all the "WHAT IF” this and that happened , these things happen in our day to day life because we all take a risk when we take a flight for vacation ,go for a walk or take a drive down the road. Yes it was low and dangerous but without those photos no one would be able to see the act and make justifying remarks, remember these people are professionals at what they do,  what is the difference of an aircraft taking off from the north sound due to change of winds and has an emergency ”god forbid” and lands in the hospital or any where else you want to put it in george town then what would you say that the pilot and controller was negligent ?. What i see here is another act of caymanians holding each other down, because i see us lucky to know the background of those who fly us around because if we had americans or other foreigners flying our fleet of aircraft without the knowledge of knowing them it would make our experiance alot more uncomfortable. I see nothing wrong with what happened because like others reported these kind of things has happend before as recent as the first aircraft that arrived with the  new colour scheme but because politians was present for a big event nothing was seen as wrong typical of cayman so i wish the controller and pilots all the best.

  6. CCC says:

    Two words….TOP GUN

    Maverick requesting fly by, negative ghost rider pattern is full….

    Goose" yeeha……. Chesters dead"

    ***************************************************************************

    How much fuel was on this plane?

    All joking aside, couldn’t you have headed east over the Sound?

    Mr. Clifford just can’t seem to catch a break!

    • Anonymous says:

      Hey CCC,

        Go back and watch TOP GUN with the subtitles on…..Goose says  "Jester’s Dead!"….not "Chester"….Jester was the call sign of the instructor pilot that they defeated in the mock dogfight when they broke the "Hard-deck"  

       

       

      Just my   $.02…..

  7. Anonymous says:

    It is really interesting to read the various opinions about the fly by. Certainly there is more to the story but as with most things the truth will perhaps never be known.

    The photographer will certainly have a story to tell in explaining this behavior and how he knew to be on scene.

    Like it or not it is a dangerous maneuver. How can a pilot be well trained in a maneuver they are not safely intended to employ?

    Perhaps they can next do a barrel roll to prove their great flying abilities.

    Cayman will some day reach a point in maturity when the nationality of its citizens will be secondary to the expected level of professionalism one displays in a chosen profession.

    Clearly from reading some of these posts that time has yet to arrive.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Up until this point I never had any hesitation in boarding a Cayman Airways jet because like so many others I was confident in the training and professionalism of the Captains and First Officers.  Now I cannot say that.  We have two fundamental differences here, people.  Yes, in order to pull off a "stunt" like this one, you have to be an exceptional pilot.  No one is debating wether or not the pilots are good at what they do.  However, what is in question now is the judegement of these pilots in even attempting something of this magnitude while flying over a populated area.  In almost every accident involving an aircraft lost during a flyby, "pilot error" is the main cause listed.  Would be so quick to dismiss this as a harmless stunt, if this plane had gone down in the center of Georgetown resulting not only in tremendous loss of life, but the resultant bad publicity for our little country as well???  There were too many things which could have gone wrong here for us to be so cavalier about this!!  Just because nothing did, should not be a reason to say "Well Done"!!  I for one, would never want to see someone disciplined or terminated who is good at their job, but there is more at stake here than someones personal life.  We have to ensure that every time someone steps onto a plane bearing the Cayman Airways logo, that those persons whom we entrust with our lives are going to take that trust seriously and not exercise poor judgement, the kind of which we saw exhibited here. 

    The second issue which has been raised it with the helicoptor being flown low and without lights at night.  As far as I am aware, Cayman Helicoptors is a PRIVATELY OWNED business.  Cayman Airways is NOT!!  The owners of the helicoptor are required to pay liability insurance in the event that there is an accident attributable to pilot or mechanical error.  This money comes from the owners and shareholder profits of the company.  The liability insurance which Cayman Airways has to pay for the same protection comes from PUBLIC FUNDS!!!  Just imagine how much higher that Liability insurance is going to be if the insurance underwriter gets wind of this???

    Has anyone publicly complained to CAACI about the "antics" of the helicoptor pilot???  If so, then let us hear about it and what was the result of the complaint.   Come on Civil Aviation…what’s good for the goose…!!!!

  9. Twyla M Vargas says:

    SUGGESTION

    I would dare to say all of the comments made on this topic of the Pilots fly by is very interesting.  Some are for, and some are against, but believe me ALL OF THEM needs to be read carefully and considered.  Because there ave some very valid points.  I would suggest they are all printed off and used during a meeting with the pilots when deciding their faith.  To sum it all up or to put it into a nutshell, what is more important is peoples lives, in the plane or on the ground.  Have faith in GOD it will move a mountain and fly aa plane.  Be safe

  10. Anonymous says:

    If this plane had ingested a bird from that west end of the runway where they tend to congregate, we would be posting condolences here.

    I personally know many of the Caymanian pilots and would hate to see any of them loose their licenses as they are indeed very good and love to fly.

    I have to admit though this looks as if it stretched the limits of safety to the max especially traveling toward the centre of George Town.

    Now the real question..who was at the event? Was Minister there? Where was the photographer? this clearly had been a "staged" event.  I would hate for the pilots to take the fall for this one without the "events coordinators" going as well.  Also were Passengers, especially Americans aboard?  I certainly hope the FAA does not become involved in this one!

    • Anonymous says:

      Is it only on fly bys that birds congregrate at this end of the runway? The same necessary clearance was obtained for take off as a normal commercial flight, come on and rally behind our caymanian pilots and lets keep politics out of this.

      • Max says:

        Safe (or good) pilots aren’t those that can fly low over a runway, most pilots can do that just fine after all.

        Safe (or good) pilots are those that maintain a high professional standard and always put safety first.

        I wouldn’t choose who I fly with based on how low they can fly over the ground, but rather on how professional their aircraft operation is.

        Unauthorized flybys at such a low altitude only demonstrate the cocky attitude of the crew, and that’s not an attitude that maintains safety. Makes you wonder what else happens in their operations.

  11. Anonymous says:

    To the last poster about that being a fly by that went wrong, here are the full facts of that flight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_296

    Yes accidents happen and they are tragic and unfortunate, but they happen during regular flight or a regular landing or taxi also. I do not think it’s fair to criticize and condemn these pilots for something they got clearance to do and had been allowed to do without reprimand previously.

    Double standards are far too prevalent in this country and it’s not just the Government who can be blamed for that. Clearly the people are just as quick to lay judgement on their own as well.

  12. Anonymous says:

    History!!   Bravo!  And thanks, Guys, for paying homage to the last of the original and BEST Sir Turtles.  I don’t forget years ago, when it was first expressed to change out Sir Turtle, how upset Caymanians were and the many protests against that change obviously fell on deaf ears.

    While I don’t condone the breaking of rules, it’s the blatant double standard in these Islands that’s ripping the very fibers of the foundations on which these Islands were built on.  I hope you guys will be OK.

    It appears the value of "things Caymanian"  has now gone to the dogs and everything and anything "Foreign"  is in.  Hopefully, these photos will be available for purchase someday.  I’ll like to add to my memorabilia of "Things Caymanian"!

     

  13. Anonymous says:

    We are all human and all proun to errors. While I support my Caymanian pilots 110%! I have to say from the pictures…the fly-by did look a little low….HOWEVER! You guys did a FABULOUS job in pulling it off! Thank God nothing happened and it all went safely! I don’t feel you all did anything wrong since other pilots have done the same thing in the past with other Cayman Airways planes.  I guess if this wasn’t caught in pictures you wouldn’t hear a word about this!!

    I believe everything happens for a reason in life….and it just so happened that on this particular day when the decision was made by all to say farewell to one of the Cayman Airways planes a low fly-by was the proper way to say good-bye and it just so happened that someone was there to catch it all on camera. Maybe this is just God’s subtle way of letting us know that it’s time to stop this before something tragic happens. I hope that all involved will not have to pay the ultimate penality….as you all were not the first to do this! But rather, we just look at this sitaution from all angles and learn from it. And if anything just ban fly-bys, since it’s obviously good for some but not for all to do!

    It was a job well done guys! Beautiful from beginning to end and I will support you all no matter what! I know everyone involved and you have my support on this one! I’m praying for all of you! Because I don’t believe you were being careless and trying to endanger lives….I just believe it was your way of saying good-bye and unfortunately now everything is blown out of proportion.

    God bless you all! You did a fabulous job with the fly-by and I’m thankful that everything went well!

    TO ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO BASH THESE GUYS! AS ANOTHER WRITER WROTE BEFORE, WERE YOU BASHING THEM WHEN YOU FLEW WITH THEM IN THE PAST AND THEY TOOK YOU SAFELY TO YOUR DESTINATION AND BROUGHT YOU BACK HERE SAFELY AS WELL AS PROBABLY TOOK YOU OUT OF SOME VERY STICKY SITUATIONS ON ONE OR MORE OF YOUR FLIGHTS?? INSTEAD OF ALWAYS TEARING A PERSON DOWN, WHY DON’T YOU TRY LOOKING AT THE SITUATION FROM ALL ANGLES! NONE OF US ARE GOD! AND CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG! BUT HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT FAULTS!!

  14. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if a politician had arranged this fly by so he could get on the stage and beat his chest about  what he arranged, if you would hear such a hollabaloo.

    Nothing being  done about the economy to prevent anymore people from becoming unemployed, and like someone else mentioned, those 500 that is graduating with very little job prospects.

    Thats what the hollabaloo should be about!

    To the pilots, I say, GREAT JOB.  Thats why I fly Cayman Airways.

     

  15. Bob says:

    Pulling a stunt once successfully doesn’t make it a safe. We’ve all driven our car too fast one day on the bypass, gone a bit fast in a parking lot or tried too aggressively to make that green light. Usually nothing bad happens, but something in the back of your mind tells us it wasn’t a smart thing to do. Same applies here.

    Flybys are common, but usually at air shows by trained pilots. Airline pilots aren’t trained for that kind of stunt, just like the bus driver isn’t trained to drive a F1 race car, nor do they fly "high performance" military jets. Moreover, airline captains at Cayman Airways aren’t flying their own private aircraft. They’re entrusted with a government owned multi million dollars vehicle and with it comes considerable liability for the people of Cayman should an accident occur. At that low of an altitude, you’re basically rolling the dice, not matter who’s in the pilot’s seat. This time it ended with great photos. Next time it could be with lost lives. Do not underestimate the risks underlying such a stunt, especially when proper approval isn’t granted for it.

    • Anonymous says:

      Bob’s reasonable post is spot on. Some of the others are incredible. Have we really reached the point when it is ok to do something horribly stupid, dangerous and irresponsible with public funds (the pilots didn’t buy the CAL jet-we did) just because they are Caymanian pilots (apparently) and we must stand by them? If it had gone wrong and the plane cartwheeled into Fosters/Tropical Gardens etc spewing an absolutely deadly fireball, would we be praising the Caymanian pilots for their gallent failure? I’ll bet if they were non-Caymanians it would be all over the place that this is what we get when we let foreigners fly our planes-stupid daredevil stuff wasting us Caymanians’ money because it means nothing to them.

      I am a Caymanian and I am sickened by this attitude which is all over the place nowadays. We are wonderful people-the world’s best, only held back by these damned foreigners so it goes. And we wonder why our kids don’t want to work responsibly-or at all?

  16. Anonymous says:

    Here is a low fly by that went wrong!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EM0hDchVlY

    • Anonymous says:

      that airbus crashed becuase of a computer malfunction, don’t involve that in this, get your facts straight, about 15 years ago 2 trained Air jamaica pilots took a boeing 767 and did the same thing in miami at an airport in homestead, and nothing came about, about it, last year a Senior test pilot was delivering a 777 to luftansa and did the same thing, he actually holds the unspoken record for low flybys at 28 feet, Cayman airways pilots are very highly skilled and very well trained, yes all could have went wrong and they should be mildly repremanded, but they knew exactly what they were doing…..so all should pan out as they say. good luck guys i’m behind you 110 %

      • Anonymous says:

        Maybe you are reading a different report, but the airbus crashed because it was too low and too late for throttle response.  The report clearly stated there was nothing wrong with the plane and the pilot was reported to be in error.  None of this is relevant however, the point being that if it was not flying low it would not have crashed in that particular instance, and the liink was posted to show what can go wrong.

        Who cares about ‘unspoken’ records for low flight that are not relevant to this incident? Maybe the pilots knew ‘exactly what they were doing’ but they do not have control over external factors and that is the whole point of having rules and creating margins of safety.  Even when an environment is created for the purpose of low flying events organizers ensure that the exit paths do not encroach on populated areas.  This aircraft was flying towards the centre of town at a very busy time, very fast and very low, an extremely dangerous condition. 

        • Anonymous says:

          it cant be two different incidents with the same aircraft in the same place,clearing the same piece of bush and crashing exactly the same way.

          it is my opinion that they were showing off yes, but they knew exactly what they were doing so they just have to be judged on what they did not their character

  17. Anonymous says:

    To all those that think this was skilfull flying by the ‘best pilots’ in the world and congratulating them, please remember that evident from the photograph, this airplane had gear and flaps up and was flying very fast and very low. Would you all be congratulating them if something had gone wrong where he lost altitude for a split second and crashed into the centre of George Town? Things can easily go wrong and in aviation, safety factors and procedures are designed to mitigate these risks to a minimum. Flying fast and low like this, increases the risk exponentially to a very unsafe level. This was a stunt, and commercial airline pilots are not trained to perform stunts and they are not fighter pilots that are trained to fly planes designed for fast low flight over terrain. It cannot be compared to a helicopter that is designed for low flight, flies at much lower speeds and can take off and land vertically. We must also not confuse a low fly by with the aircraft configured for slow flight (in a landing configuration) which is common and far safer. Let us not praise the pilots but praise God nothing catostrophic happened!

  18. Rellim says:

    Job well done! I trust our pilots and I do sincerly hope that they and the ATC are not further penalized. This has been done in the past and I’m sure that was takien into consideration when the ATC made the approval.

  19. Anonymous says:

    There are far bigger problems going on on this little rock than to be making such a big issue about this fly-by!!! Which was pretty cool I must add! Yes I have to agree to some degree that it looked a little scary in the pictures because of the distance between the plane and the ground…..but I have every confidence in the pilots and they pulled off a great job of doing the fly-by. If it’s the case….I only wished they had gotten the proper ok…so that the "powers that be" wouldn’t have their nickers all in a knot right now!!!!!

    KUDOS TO THE PILOTS! THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A HELL OF AN ADRENALINE RUSH! I’M GLAD YOU GUYS PULLED IT OFF SAFELY TOO. I WISH I WAS THERE!!!!

    I just hope you all don’t have to pay the price for all the others that got away and are still getting away with these stunts!!! You should see the type of flying that goes on with the guy flying the helicopter!!! I know of people who have gotten so sick once they got off their ride with him, for the crazy way he was flying!!!!

    Anyway guys….I support you all! I hope this will all blow over soon….and who knows….maybe you all can go on to teach those 500 children that are coming out of school in a few months….how to fly a plane as good as you guys can! At least that will give them something constructive to do….

  20. Anonymous says:

    AWESOME PICTURES!!!!! AWESOME JOB PILOTS!!!! LOVED IT!!! WISH I HAD SEEN IT IN PERSON!!!! I’LL FLY WITH YOU GUYS ANYDAY!!!!!!

  21. Anonymous says:

    Flying an aircraft in such a way is all about having confidence in your bird (aircraft) and confidence in yourselves as pilot´s at the controls of that machine.

    I have the greatest confidence in my Cayman Airways pilots and my national airline as a whole. Wherever possible, I don´t fly no other airline because I trust my pilots and their maintenance staff.

    The only thing I have to say is, ¨I wish I was on the aircraft at the time¨

    These guys are professionals and train in flight simulators for many hours in all types of flying situations. It only gives me more confidence in my Caymanian pilots, that should an emergency take place, I know that I have the past chance of survival in the sky with great pilots at the contols who have skills, knows their limitations and their machine very well.

    For God´s sake, give the guy´s a break.

    You want something to talk about and be concerned ??????

    Our 500 children who will be graduatig from school in June and won´t have any jobs, the 1,000 people unemployed and Martin Bridger just got approval to proceed forward with another one of his ¨dreamed up investigations¨ which will likely incurr more heart-aches and law suits for me and you to pay !!!!!!!!!!

     

  22. Anonymous says:

    NOT AT ALL FUNNY!

    I have verified from the side photo montaged with the Boeing 737-200 cadd specs found online (recognizing variances in perspective, engine cowling size, solar shadows, model number, height of photographer, etc) that this aircraft appears to be only 9-12 feet  above the surface, based on the distance from the bottom of the engines to the surface of the runway. That is about 3 feet taller than the standard SUV. I also appears to be with a "nose up" attitude which may mean it was not at its lowest point when photographed.  In fact, this aircraft may have been cushioned from the surface only by "ground effect".

    Most pilots are considered "skilled and the best" once the pull off something like this…or "foolish and dead" if they don’t. Just remember that minimum liability that comes from a jet accident is approximately $3-400M.  In small airlines like Cayman Airways it would likely mean immediate closure.

     

     

  23. Anonymous says:

    Personally, I think my grandmother can photoshop better than that.  And if that is the case, the only one at fault is the prankster.  By the way shouldn’t there be a rather big shadow cast on the ground.   Leave the CAL flyboys alone, there awesome and the only airline I feel safe flying.

  24. noname says:

    To the Captain and his First Officer…..JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I was on it with them wihen they did the flyby……you guys did us proud! Good flying and awesome pilots what more can our National flight carrier ask for?!

  25. Twyla M Vargas says:

    BEST LANDING AND FLYING 

    Just got to congragulate our CAYMAN AIRWAYS PILOTS.  They are the best.  It is a pleasure to watch them LAND AND TAKE OFF.   And they fly like a bird.  I would never fly any other airline.  Cant comment on why these two got into hot water, but I would say talk to them good.  They are good pilots.  And to the pilots I would like to say YOU ARE THE BEST.  Just continue to be safe.  Blessed

    • Anonymous says:

      This was an unneccessary stunt. As a Caymanian teenager I want to be a pilot at Cayman Airways and I am ashamed to say that the airline has pilots that would do such a foolish stunt like this. This just gives another joke for the world to laugh at our island about. It is a disgrace in which those pilots have done and have ruined our national flag carriers reputation which it has for being ranked the top safest airline in the world. The whole red tape about the airline flying to honduras might as well be concluded as the airline’s reputation has gone. I am ashamed to know these 2 pilots fly for the airline of my country. 

      • Anonymous says:

        Did it ever occur to you that these fly bys are done throughout the world????  And did it ever occur to you that this was not the FIRST time that Cayman Airways pilots have done these fly bys??? Since you want to be a pilot, you should know that airlines do fly bys and it’s not considered "foolish stunts" as you call it.

        And no – the world is not going to laugh at our island because of this. Only small minded people like you would say that.

        You say you are ashamed to know that these two pilots fly for the airline of your country also??? Well let me ask you this…. how many times have these same two pilots taken you safely to your destinations when you are flying with Cayman Airways? 

        You all come on here and make your stupid, rude remarks and want to put them down because you say they did something "stupid", but I think they did a pretty good job.  It takes SKILLS to do something like that!!!

        You call yourself Caymanian and want the best for the country but yet instead of coming together and being there for our CAYMANIAN pilots, you put them down because you feel that it was a "foolish stunt". 

        Maybe one day you may have the skill and talent to fly that well…..but until then..shut the hell up!

      • Anonymous says:

        If you are a teenager as posted and want to be a pilot don’t be ashamed but proud this is some excellent flying and it is good to know we have pilots capable of doing this, if and when you get the experience you will do like wise.

  26. Anonymous says:

    I Believe this was a Ridiculous Stunt.

    Considering this was a Friday at midday or so and the aircraft was moving from the east to west (based on the photos shown) over Cayman Prep school and the hundreds of houses/Businesses on Smith road makes this something that should definitely warrant a serious investigation.  This aircraft appears to be about 20 feet off the deck. Its speed cannot be determined from the photos but was obviously sufficient for flight, including what would have been a lower than normal pass over the populated area based on photo one.  

    I am sure that the simplest error, pilot depth perception and judgment or sudden lost of lift due to an air anomaly, would have been catastrophic not only for the island and thousands of people to the west. Let’s hope the aircraft did not contain passengers at the time.

    While I believe that the incident has many complexities and the investigation should be completed, I believe the ATC who gave permission for this should loose their job if they understood the proximity to the ground that this aircraft was going to be in and the direction of travel. Similarly, if the pilots got permission for one thing and then executed another they should also loose their licenses as well.

    The "Chuckie new Tail pass" was also a ridiculous idea but at least the aircraft was moving toward the North Sound. Many of the comments below seem to make fun of this issue. It clearly increased the public threat to thousands of people of George town. These low passes should be banned from this point on.

    If you would like to see what this may have looked like see this video. Do you think that looks safe out over Smith road on a Friday midday?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYfhC9ft_hk&feature=related

     

  27. Anonymous says:

     What about the noise from the helicopter at night flying low with no lights and grazing the reef in the North Sound with passengers.

     

    seems a double standard here

  28. Anonymous says:

    The Pilots of the Iron Bird did a pretty good job flying that low. Good Job Guys. Also got to give the photgrapher credit for a job well done.

  29. Anonymous says:

    I hope that because these individuals are caymanians they are not used to set examples but to set guide lines as to how low they are allowed to do fly-bys. From  the pictures I  saw i would say good job guys on the fly-by and to the photographer good shots and to CAL archive them and to CAA give them a break. More reason to fly Sir Turtle, capable pilots.

     

  30. Anonymous says:

    So if this flyby was deemed "unsafe"! Are we going to tell the helicopter pilot who flies "unsafely" low when going in for landing at the airport or when flying around the island, that he’s on suspension as well.

    What about that fact that he does all sorts of manuevors with people in the choper!! Are we going to put him on suspension as well for doing stuff that could be considered unsafe to himself, other people in the choper and the people on the ground????!!!!!!

  31. Anonymous says:

    If the low pass should only be initiated when an aircraft is in difficulty….then it shouldn’t have been allowed when the aircraft got a new paint job on the tail….unless u want to consider that a time when the plane was in difficulty!

    One rule should apply for all! Not just when it suits certain people! Granted the event may have been considered dangerous! I have no clue! I wasn’t there and didn’t see it….but I was told it was pretty awesome to see! I don’t think the pilots deserve to have their careers ruined over it! And while I’m thankful that nothing serious and tragic happened…..if it has been allowed in the pass then I can see why the pilots did it on this occassion as well……I am quite sure they got they permission needed and wouldn’t just do that unless they got they ok to do it…..so what is all the hoopla about now????

    Do explain! You can’t say it’s ok for someone or a certain bunch of people to do something and then turn around and say  it’s not ok for someone or a different bunch of people to do the same thing!

    One rule applies to all right?!

    • Anonymous says:

      You are right……the Airline was in (Financial) difficulty at that time. Still is.

  32. Anonymous says:

    Come on people, it’s not that big of a deal..

    We need to stop roasting people for moments we should actually be proud of.

    I say GOOD JOB to the pilots and the ATC. I’m sorry that you’re being given a difficult time, hold your heads high. 

    CAACI and Cayman Airways why don’t you just back off and allow some flexibility and enjoyment and stop being killjoys… 

  33. Anonymous says:

     

    These Same rules should also go for the Helicopter that flies at night with out lights and very low over people houses.

  34. Anonymous says:

    Funny how it was okay to do the low fly over when the newly painted plane was brought in, so what is the difference?

  35. Friend of Cayman says:

    Aircraft ALWAYS fly low over runways.

    In case anyone hasn’t  noticed, this is a fundamental part of any aircraft’s nature.