Pilot scrawls ‘I’m bored’ into UK sky mid-flight
(CNN) — An airline pilot used a two-hour test flight to spell out a mischievous message in the sky, writing the words “I’m bored” as he flew over the United Kingdom.
While some might show their boredom by doodling on paper or playing on their phone, this pilot took his message to new heights – roughly 1,100 feet (335 meters).
Airline tracking website Flightradar24 captured the message, which was created during a flight on Saturday morning local time.
Tracking data shows that the Ravenair plane embarked on a two-hour journey from the English city of Liverpool on the northwest coast and flew over neighboring northern towns in the Wirral peninsula and Cheshire before crossing into north Wales.
For around 20 minutes, the pilot weaved his cheeky confession in clear loops above the Dee estuary, leaving an unmistakable signature in the sky.
The Piper Tomahawk had been taken on a test flight by a flying instructor in his 20s after a part was replaced on the plane, the airline said.
“I think the pilot was literally a bit bored as it was just a test flight,” operation manager Wayne Barrett told the BBC. “Mind you it was pretty skillful flying.”
Barrett said that the plane’s cylinder, a critical mechanism where fuel is burned to generate power, had been replaced and required a test run to ensure the aircraft was safe for future use.
The plane proved to be fit for action, Barrett said, but he joked that the pilot’s trick was impressive for someone claiming to have grown weary of his task.
“He was a bit bored, but he probably had to concentrate a lot in the end to spell out the words, so he was probably anything but,” Barrett said.
But the playful pilot will dodge a reprimanding, Barrett said. “The plane is now safely back in the hangar, and the pilot is on his day off.”
CNN has contacted Ravenair for comment.
This is not the first time a pilot has gone off-piste to send a message.
In 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic forced lockdowns and safety warnings to ripple around the globe, a pilot in Austria took to the skies to illustrate a vital message. “Stay Home,” the message read.
The reminder was also caught on Flightradar24 and occurred on a 24-minute flight just south of the country’s capital of Vienna.
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