A plane passenger filmed a remarkable moment where an aircraft to appear as if it is floating in mid-air, without moving.
The footage is taken from inside a commercial jet as it comes in to land at San Francisco International Airport, the camera pointing out the left of the plane across the bay below. Suddenly another plane comes into the shot, seemingly a few hundred metres away from the first.
What is confusing about the second plane is that it appears to be completely still. From the vantage point of the first, which is apparently moving past it at pace, it is hovering above the water like a helicopter or drone.
The baffled passenger shared their clip on Reddit, captioning it, 'Landing at SFO. What is happening here? [Aliens]?'.
People were bemused by the footage, and tried guessing what may have caused it. "Well, I think this is cool and never seen that in real life. So crazy looking!" one person wrote. Another joked: "It’s a glitch in the matrix." A third wrote: "Aliens!"
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However, a pilot has spoken to the Daily Mirror and explained that it's an optical illusion. They told us: "San Francisco has a procedure when the weather is adequate and both aircraft can see each other, they can land with less separation laterally than you'd normally need. The aircraft is much lighter than the one where the passenger is filming, so it will be flying much slower - and there could be a strong headwind which means less movement over the ground too."
Aviation buffs hoping to see some eye-catching plane moments may want to head to Madeira Airport in Portugal; the way that the runway is set up in relation to the hills means that, on particularly windy days, pilots have to approach in a long curve.
Last year a pilot was filmed doing just this, with crosswind so strong the plane appeared to be coming in sideways. The aircraft comes over the sea and banks around to the right over the land, tilting its wings down as the pilot lines the plane up with the runway.
The plane was seen approaching Madeira Airport (MADEIRA AVIATION)The strength of the wind is clear to see as the Ryanair jet shudders and rocks as it comes closer and closer to the ground. When the plane is just a few dozen metres away from the earth the gust pushes its nose out to the left of the runway, leaving its wheels at a 45 degree angle from the strip.
Somehow the coolheaded pilot holds their nerve and shifts the plane round to the right, holding it just above the tarmac as the wheels are aligned with the floor. The plane suddenly dips down and makes contact with the runway, a small puff of dust billowing up behind it.
The footage was captured by the plane enthusiasts at Madeira Aviation, who film approaches to a landing strip which is often disrupted by strong swirling winds that come off the Atlantic and are whipped up by the cliffs.
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