Shocking moment pilot aborts landing 147ft above airport runway and performs dangerous stunt on Argentine’s $20m presidential plane
- Argentina’s new presidential plane was involved in an ‘illogical’ stunt on Thursday
- The plane was flown from Miami to Buenos Aires by Leonardo Barone, the director of the president’s logistics unit, when it aborted its landing at Jorge Newbery Airport.
- Video shows Barone stopping before landing, climbing rapidly then turning the plane to the left before flying around the city and landing
A high-ranking member of Argentina’s presidential team wanted to test out his latest toy, and now he may be in hot water.
Leonardo Barone’s only job was to fly the new presidential plane from Miami to Bueno Aires when he changed plans and pulled off a dangerous stunt at Jorge Newbery Airport on Thursday.
Video footage captured the moment Barone was approximately 147 feet above the runway and about to land the $20 million Boeing 737-256 when it began to climb and continued downhill. Before.
Barone, who is the presidential logistics director, then tilted the white and sky-blue plane to the left for a few seconds before straightening it as it headed towards the La Plata River.
A still from cellphone video captures the shocking moment a government official performed a dangerous stunt and aborted the landing of the new presidential plane before flying the plane back to the airport
It 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 criticized Barone’s daring stunt.
“The maneuver was quite illogical,” Rinzelli told Argentinian news channel TN. “The plane should have landed with a normal approach at a congested airport on a day with not the best weather conditions.”
An Armed Forces source told the network that Barone informed control towers of his intention to fly low over the runway before returning the plane to land.
“They finally got through and veered dangerously low,” the source said.
Argentina’s presidential Boeing 373 veers left in a daring stunt performed by the president’s logistics unit manager
Online news portal Infobae revealed Barone also ignored instructions from the control tower and was told to keep the plane 3,000ft above the ground as they worked to clear another plane at the airport.
Barone was heard saying to the air traffic controller: “Ah, I understood it was a free descent. We maintain it… 2300 feet.
The control tower worker then snapped, telling him he had never 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.
