LIVERPOOL, England: A pilot writes “I’m bored” across a flight-tracking map during a two-hour Piper Tomahawk test flight over northwest England on Saturday, July 11.
Flightradar24 data showed the Ravenair aircraft leaving Liverpool at about 11:30 a.m. British Summer Time, or 3:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time. It returned to Merseyside around 1:30 p.m. BST.
The instructor, who is in his 20s, flew over the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, North Wales and the Dee Estuary. He spent about 20 minutes tracing the seven-letter message between Talacre and Greenfield.
The pattern appeared on the online flight tracker rather than as writing visible from the ground. Flightradar24 recorded the aircraft flying at about 1,100 feet and at speeds below 100 knots.
Ravenair operations manager Wayne Barrett told BBC News that the flight followed the replacement of an engine cylinder. The aircraft needed testing to confirm that the repair had worked.
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Barrett described the manoeuvre as skilled and said the pilot would not face disciplinary action. He added that the aircraft had returned safely to its hangar and the instructor was taking his scheduled day off.
The precise route was not authorised, although the test flight itself was required, according to the operator.