“I don’t think they were supposed to be that low,” one X user said.
The pre-match flyover for the All Blacks test in Cape Town came dangerously close to the top of DHL Stadium. Photo / Sky Sport
“Someone may be in trouble.”
Another asked Airlink to think about people’s safety, while someone else called it “stupid” and said it “could’ve ended so badly”.
Fans who were watching on TV thought the images might have been AI generated before videos on social media confirmed the stunt was genuine.
The All Blacks posted their own video of the jets passing over the stadium, showing the firework smoke making contact with the bottom of one of the planes and saying “This is impressive” in the video’s caption.
Low-altitude flyovers have become common at major South African rugby matches, with one also happening before the first test in Johannesburg last week.
The tradition can be traced back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final when a South African Airways Boeing 747 jet flew over Ellis Park before South Africa secured their first Webb Ellis Cup against New Zealand.
The two planes that flew over DHL Stadium, registered as ZS-YAE and ZS-YDE, departed Cape Town at about 2pm local time and circled above Robben Island before making the flypast.