An expatriate pilot with Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has reportedly been fired for performing a Top Gun-style stunt in which he swooped metres over a runway in a new Boeing passenger jet.

Ian Wilkinson was piloting the Boeing 777-300ER on its maiden flight from the manufacturer's plant in Everett, Washington, when he turned around after take-off and swooped around 10 metres over the runway, the South China Sunday Morning Post reported.

Cathay Pacific chairman Chris Pratt was among the VIP passengers on board the plane when Wilkinson did his unauthorised fly-by of the Boeing factory on January 30, the newspaper said today.

Phot credits Tim Dauber more pics at http://blog.seattle-deliveries.com/2008/01/cathay-777-b-kpf-delivery.html

Wilkinson was sacked over the incident at a disciplinary hearing last week, while a second, unidentified pilot, believed to be the co-pilot, has been suspended from training duties for six months, according to the Post.
Videos and photographs of the swoop have been posted on the internet and pilots' gossip forums, with some praising the stunt but others describing it as dangerous and poorly executed.

A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman told the newspaper that Wilkinson insisted the fly-by was "not dangerous" but said he had been sacked for not seeking approval for the manoeuvre.

 

Would you really do that sort of thing with the chairman of Cathay Pacific in the plane . Maybe it was just a rush of blood to the head, maybe he watched Top Gun the night before:

Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That's a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full. 

 

As the 777-300 wingspan is 200 ft I would say the picture shows he is actually at around 25 m, but hyperbole aside : It looks a well-flown approach to me. He would probably have practised it many times beforehand in the simulator. As this was a few days after the BA777 crash at LHR, I happen to know he was showing his confidence in the aircraft. He was the 777 Fleet Manager with about 20 years plus in Cathay, so the chances are he knew all the other management involved. His big mistake was not giving himself written authorisation.

Here's the video of the stunt: