ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Two Airlink E-Jets, one black and one green, flew over Cape Town Stadium seconds before the Springboks and the All Blacks kicked off. Within an hour the whole internet had an opinion on how low it was. This is what an airline pilot actually saw: where the 50 foot number comes from and what it really means, why a flypast like that is flown in briefing rooms for weeks before it is flown over a roof, the risk formula I teach pilots every week, and the one question nobody asked the tens of thousands of people sitting underneath it.
I have never flown a flypast and I say so up front. I am not going to tell you it was wrong, and I am not going to tell you it was fine. I will tell you what the numbers say and where they come from, what Airlink says, and why "our pilots are skilled enough to pull it off" is the one argument that worries me more than the altitude does.
One word in the comments: would you want it done again next Saturday? Yes or no.
WHERE THE STORY STANDS
Airlink says six senior captains flew the two aircraft, three in each, that the flight was planned and rehearsed, and that it was flown inside altitude and speed limits approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Airlink has since handed the flight data from both aircraft to the SACAA for review, and the SACAA has said it will issue a statement. I will track that in the pinned comment. The third test is at FNB Stadium on Saturday 5 September.
TIME-STAMPED FLIGHT PLAN
00:00 Twelve Seconds Over Cape Town
00:39 What I Am, And What I Am Not
01:30 Ellis Park 1995 And The Hype
02:44 How Low Was It, Really?
04:09 Preparation, Not Bravery
05:30 The Snake On The Briefing Room Desk
07:22 The Day We Taxied Back For Coffee
08:32 Nobody In The Stands Signed The Risk Assessment
09:14 What Happens Next
10:11 Was It Too Low? My Honest Answer
11:37 Your Vote: Yes Or No
I'm Bryan Roseveare. I was an airline captain. I still go to work on the flight deck. It's just a full flight simulator now, and the pilots I train are the ones who fly you around.
SOURCES
Airlink statement, via SAnews (31 August 2026) → https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/airlink-defends-safety-low-altitude-flyover-springboks-all-blacks-test
Flightradar24, altitude data and pressure correction for the flypast → https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-tracking-news/special-event/airlinks-low-flypast-over-rugby-match-in-cape-town/
IOL, Airlink offers black-box data as the world reacts (31 August 2026) → https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/2026-08-31-airlink-offers-black-box-data-as-the-world-reacts-to-dangerous-flypast/
EWN, Airlink says the flyover was conducted within SACAA approved limits → https://www.ewn.co.za/airlink-reassure-flyover-over-cape-town-stadium-was-conducted-within-sacaa-s-approved-limits/
NZ Herald, airline hands flight data to aviation officials → https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/all-blacks-v-south-africa-jet-flyover-in-cape-town-airline-hands-flight-data-to-aviation-officials/MZKVIWQMUFFMLFEZADAQNNP5NA/
NZ Herald, world media reacts to the Cape Town flyover → https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/all-blacks-v-springboks-world-media-reacts-to-dangerous-flyover-before-cape-town-test/OWMNGLJPDVGTXFB4OVOV7FBFOE/
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
1995 Rugby World Cup Final flypast, Ellis Park, Johannesburg, 24 June 1995. South African Airways Boeing 747-200 "Lebombo", Captain Laurie Kay. Footage copyright 1995 World Rugby. Sourced from "Rugby World Cup 1995 - Good Luck Bokke | Must-See Moment (06.24.1995)", uploaded by ARCHIVE Sport. A short excerpt is used for the purposes of criticism and review. → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_7QjbNxdqc
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