Pilot aborts landing and performs dangerous stunt on $20 million Argentine presidential plane
Shocking moment: Pilot aborts landing 147ft over airport runway and performs dangerous stunt on $20m Argentine presidential plane
- Argentina’s new presidential plane was involved in an “illogical” stunt on Thursday
- The plane was being flown from Miami to Buenos Aires by Leonardo Barone, the president’s logistics department director, when the latter aborted landing at Jorge Newbery Airport
- A video shows Barone stopping just before landing, quickly ascending, and then steering the plane to the left before flying around the city and landing
A senior member of Argentina’s presidential staff wanted to test his latest toy and could now be in trouble.
Leonardo Barone’s only job was to fly the new presidential plane from Miami to Buenos Aires when he changed plans and pulled off a dangerous stunt at Jorge Newbery Airport on Thursday.
Video footage captured the moment Barone was about 147 feet above the runway and about to land the $20 million Boeing 737-256 plane when he began the climb and continued forward.
Barone, the president’s director of logistics, then flipped the white-and-sky-blue plane onto its left side for a few seconds before righting itself and flying toward the La Plata River.
The still from cell phone video captured the shocking moment when a government official pulled off a dangerous stunt and aborted the landing of the new presidential plane before returning the plane to the airport
He flew over Plaza de Mayo, the city’s oldest public square, and Casa Rosada, the President’s mansion, before landing safely at Jorge Newbery Airport.
Aviation consultant Carlos Rinzelli praised Barone’s daring stunt.
“The maneuver was quite illogical,” Rinzelli told the Argentine news channel TN. “The plane should have landed on a normal approach in a crowded airport and on a day when weather conditions are not the best.”
An armed forces source told the broadcaster that Barone informed the control towers of his plans to fly low over the runway before returning to land the plane.
“They eventually passed and took a dangerously deep turn,” the source said.
Argentina’s Presidential Boeing 373 turns left during a daring stunt by the Director of the President’s Logistics Unit
Online news outlet Infobae revealed that Barone also ignored instructions from the control tower and was told to hold the plane at 3,000 feet above the ground while they worked to clear another plane at the airport.
Barone was heard telling the air traffic controller, ‘Ah, I understand that was a free descent.’ We’re holding it up…2300 feet.’
The control tower employee then accused him of never having been allowed to do so.
Barone then apologized and informed the traffic controller that he had climbed to 3,000 feet.
President Alberto Fernández did not comment on the incident.