Icelandair states that a low-altitude flight involving one of the airline’s Boeing 757-200s was not carried out with its knowledge, nor was it authorised by the company.
The aircraft – inbound to Reykjavik from Frankfurt on 11 April – appears to have descended to less than 2,000ft while passing the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland.
Typically the flight would have still been above 20,000ft at this point of the approach to Reykjavik.
The jet appeared to pass over Vestmannaeyjar airport on the islands before climbing back to around 5,000ft prior to its final approach to Keflavik airport’s runway 01.
Icelandair tells FlightGlobal that the flight was “neither performed with the knowledge nor the authorisation of the company’s management”.
It says it reported the incident to relevant authorities as soon as it learned of the event.
The Icelandic Transport Authority, the administration and supervision agency for aviation and maritime safety, has commenced an investigation.
Icelandair has not confirmed the number of passengers and crew on board at the time.
“Laws and regulations governing aviation are established for safety reasons, and Icelandair employees as well as the company are required to comply with them at all times,” says the carrier.
The post Investigation under way after Icelandair 757’s unauthorised low-level flight first appeared on FlightGlobal.