An airline pilot used a two-hour test flight to write a message in British skies: “I’m bored.” The writing was captured by the flight tracking website Flightradar24 and has been making the rounds on the web in recent days. The case is causing a lot of discussion in Great Britain. Usually those who are bored try to pass the time by playing on their cell phones or writing something on a sheet of paper, but in this case the pilot went further, leaving his “thought” at about 1,100 feet in the air.
The writing in the sky
Tracking data shows the Ravenair plane undertook a two-hour journey from the English city of Liverpool on the north-west coast, flying over nearby northern towns on the Wirral peninsula and Cheshire before entering North Wales. Within 20 minutes the pilot made his cheeky confession with sweeping loops over the Dee Estuary, leaving an unmistakable signature in the sky. The airline said the Piper Tomahawk had been given a test flight by a flight instructor in his 20s, after a component on the plane was replaced.
“I think the pilot was simply bored, as it was only a test flight,” operations manager Wayne Barrett told CNN. “However, he flew with great skill.” Barrett said the plane’s cylinder, a critical mechanism in which fuel is burned to generate power, had been replaced and needed testing to ensure the aircraft was safe for future use. The plane proved fit for action, Barrett said, but he joked that the pilot’s aerobatics was impressive for someone who claimed to have grown tired of his task. “He was a little bored,” Barrett said, “but he probably had to concentrate hard at the end to spell out the words, so he was probably anything but bored.”
No reproaches
But the pilot, with his playful spirit, will avoid a reprimand, Barrett said. “The plane is now safe in the hangar and the pilot is on his day off.”It is not the first time a pilot has gone off course to send a message. In 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic forced lockdowns and issued safety warnings around the world, an Austrian pilot took to the skies to illustrate a crucial message: “Stay at home.” The warning was also reported by Flightradar24 and occurred during a 24-minute flight just south of the capital Vienna.