A closer look at the flight path of the Jet Airways flight that carried the Gupta wedding guests, reveals the nearly 200 passengers aboard were treated to a rare fly-over of the Union Buildings.
And at least one aviation expert has claimed that the plane disrupted other legitimate flights to OR Tambo in the busiest airspace in Africa.
Using flight tracking technology, eNCA.com has ascertained that the Airbus A330 conducted a low-level sightseeing pass over the country's capital.
The detour took the twin jet liner on a circular route around Pretoria’s city centre, and saw the plane fly almost directly over the Union Buildings.
“This sort of thing is never normally allowed as that is controlled airspace,” SA Flyer Magazine editor Guy Lietch told eNCA.com, who explained that the area of Pretoria’s city centre fell under the Waterkloof Air Force Base’s controlled traffic region.
Lietch said: “The airspace falls under military control, the pilot would have needed to get special permission from the ATC (Air Traffic Control) tower at Waterkloof … the pilot would have a legal obligation to do so for basic safety purposes as well to ensure there is no conflicting air traffic and you can see and be seen.”
07/05/13 eNCA
