MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Presidential aircraft performs shocking stunt on approach at Buenos Aires airport

The maneuver posed no threat to other aircraft, it was explained

Video footage of Argentina's Air Force T-04 Boeing 737-500 landing at Buenos Aires' Aeroparque in a quite unorthodox style went viral Tuesday on Youtube. The aircraft is a part of the Presidential fleet.

Control Tower operators recorded the incident on their mobile telephones and uploaded it after noticing the maneuver was anything but normal. It was definitely not within the standard approach procedures for the runway.

“What a son of ... !” an air traffic controller can be heard saying after noticing what the pilot of the T-04 had done, which was even beyond any conceivable emergency procedure.

However, Government sources explained that the maneuvers were being carried out as part of a special Air Force training program and that Aeroparque's tower had greenlighted it.

According to the Air Force, the pilots were evaluating the Boeing 737-500's operational capabilities.

The flight was returning from Mar del Plata's Astor Piazzolla Airport.

The co-pilot of the aircraft also recorded the event from the cockpit and the “bank angle” alarm can also be heard signaling the steep turn. Normal approaches at Runway 13 are in a straight line, according to aviation charts.

“It was a check flight from Jorge Newbery Airport to Astor Piazzolla Airport in the city of Mar del Plata where several landings and takeoffs were made to verify the proper functioning of the landing gear and reverse thrust...”.

The authorities also said Aeroparque had been requested clearance to perform a visual approach at Runway 13, so the control tower had already been informed about the procedure and that they were the ones who authorized the landing.

The tests were at all times “controlled and coordinated” so as not to cause “any danger to the safety of the aircraft, the pilots or [any] third parties.”