View from the cockpit: this is what a Dreamliner landing looks like
'I hope that our more nervous passengers will see we are totally at ease when flying,' says Twitter’s favourite pilot
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.British Airways pilot Captain Dave Wallsworth has posted another illuminating video from the cockpit, this time of BA’s inaugural Boeing 787 flight to Johannesburg in South Africa.
Captain Dave, who has more than 58,000 followers across Twitter and Instagram, has become a social media sensation thanks to his behind-the-scenes footage and photos showing what flying is like from a pilot’s perspective.
His latest clip, uploaded to YouTube on 20 November, shows the last 10 minutes of flight BA51 landing at O. R. Tambo airport on 29 October.
The aircraft was captained by Simon Scholey, with senior first officer Mark Grigg at the controls and senior first officer Nigel Holgate in the jumpseat.
The video shows two perspectives – one from the cockpit and the other from outside the plane, giving a clearer view of the Johannesburg landscape.
It’s captioned to describe the step by step process of landing the Dreamliner, from turning towards the runway and lowering the undercarriage, to changing the wind flap setting and taking control of the aircraft for landing.
“A lovely landing by Mark,” writes Captain Dave as the jet hits the runway smoothly.
The aircraft was Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJH and it landed on the airport’s 03R runway.
“The landing was spot on. Great work,” commented Shiraz Chanawala on YouTube.
Tens of aviation fans (or AvGeeks as they’re affectionately known) commented on the video on Twitter, asked Captain Dave extra questions about certain elements of landing procedure.
Previous videos from Captain Dave of flights touching down in San Francisco have netted hundreds of thousands of views online.
Another of his videos shows the A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane, taking off from London’s Heathrow airport.
“According to the heart rate monitor on my watch, my pulse during take-off is lower than it is when driving to work on the M25,” said Captain Dave on film. “One of my main reasons for producing these videos is to show how relaxed our working environment is. I hope that our more nervous passengers will see we are totally at ease when flying.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments