Exhilarating footage captures low-flying United Airlines 747 over San Francisco

A piece of incredible footage shows the moment a gigantic Boeing 747 swoops down over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

This isn’t exactly a regular occurrence, and you’d have to be in the right place at the right time to catch one of the world’s biggest airplanes flying low over any city.

However, anyone in San Fran on that particular day was treated to a real show.

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This footage was filmed during the Fleet Week Air Show, which takes place each year in the Californian city.

It was then shared on YouTube by Ciaran Regan, who documents loads of different air shows on his channel.

Usually, the event sees aircraft from the US Air Force and Marine Corps performing in the skies between the Golden Gate Bridge and the unmistakable Alcatraz prison island.

Each year, the military service vehicles are joined by a commercial airliner, and for a few years, that was the United Airlines Boeing 747 – one of the biggest and best commercial jets out there.

In 2010, 2011, and 2017, those who lined the bay to watch the aerial entertainment would have seen one of the biggest passenger planes in the world performing a careful choreography.

If that’s what you are into, check out this Air India Boeing 747 doing something similar.

These low flybys are – for most – a once-in-a-lifetime sight, and if you didn’t see it back in 2017, you might have missed the chance forever, anyway.

That’s because United Airlines was scheduled to retire the iconic 747 from service that same year.

On November 7 2017, the last United 747 took to the skies, ending a journey that began all the way back in 1970.

That’s a lot of flying, and a lot of passengers flown.

Upon that final flight, United released a statement that said: “This is a special moment for our industry as we say a fond farewell to an aircraft that transformed the skies by making air travel affordable and convenient to many people.”

But, back to another special moment.

In this video, the huge 747 soars majestically through the sky, past the landmark that gives San Francisco the nickname ‘The Golden Gate City’ and low over the strait that connects the bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond it.

It’s a remarkable sight, and loads of people who have watched it have piped up in the comments section.

One wrote: “I can just imagine the systems in the cockpit and the complete fit they’re throwing.”

“Absolutely totally cool,” another said.

A third simply commented: “Whoa.”

Yep, we can all agree on that.

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