Skimming the Ground at 300 mph

Posted by: Justin Bachman on February 25

Did you hear the one about the pilot who did a runway fly-by in a brand new jumbo jet? Nope, not a joke. It really happened — there’s video of the fly-by online and a veteran Cathay Pacific captain has been sacked.

The pilot, Ian Wilkinson, was flying the new 777 from Boeing's plant near Seattle to Hong Kong with several company executives on board when he buzzed the ground at about 30 feet, according to The Times of London. "The 322mph fly-by was cheered by onlookers, and the pilot, who is said to be one of the most senior aviators with the airline, later toasted the flight with champagne," according to the Feb. 25 story.

The Jan. 30 incident was, of course, captured on video and the video found its way to the Internet, of course, and was then seen by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Authority. Wilkinson was soon sacked. According to The Times, Cathay chairman Chris Pratt was among the officials on the flight -- leading one to believe that the boss had been given a heads up he was about to get a 320 mph close-up view of the ground. Plus, Cathay Pacific apparently has a procedure to follow if you are a pilot wishing to get creative with your handling of a $150 million aircraft. Wilkinson, apparently, did not follow protocols for his most unorthodox departure.

This case has sparked some debate online about whether the punishment was too severe. What do you think?