Photo by

Wikimedia Commons

On Saturday, April 11, an Icelandair flight heading from Frankfurt to Keflavík took an unexpected turn when the pilot performed an unauthorised flyover across Heimaey in Vestmannaeyjar. Seen on videos, the plane flies dangerously close to the town’s buildings.

As originally reported by RÚV, chief Icelandair flight officer Linda Gunnarsdóttir said that the incident is taken seriously, claiming that the company was not informed of the act nor permitted. Linda told RÚV that this was the pilot’s last flight before retirement.

Icelandair has issued an apology to Vestmanneyjar residents.

On Sunday, news broke out that the airplane’s passengers had been notified of the flyover. According to the air navigation services Avians, the pilot had requested a diversion from the flight path which was granted. 

“It was a wonderful experience,” one passenger accounted in conversation with RÚV, describing that passengers had applauded the pilot extensively. 

But Icelandair is not touched. As RÚV reports, senior vice president of flight operations Arnar Már Magnússon sent out a companywide email describing the incident, stating that such an offense would not be tolerated. According to Arnar, company lawyers reported the incident to the police, and the matter will be investigated further.