Airbus A380 pilot performs ‘extreme’ wing wave during take-off for spectators

  • This Airbus A380 take-off features an unexpected twist
  • Without passengers on board, the pilot was able to perform an ‘extreme’ wing wave
  • It left spectators thrilled

Published on Jul 15, 2024 at 3:55 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Jul 17, 2024 at 12:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Take-off for an aircraft the size of the Airbus A380 is an impressive enough feat – add in an ‘extreme’ wing wave and spectators were left thrilled.

The Lufthansa A380 pilot took from Munich, Germany, as the pilot performed the stunt.

Thankfully, there were no nervous – or otherwise -passengers aboard.

READ MORE: Inside the $78 Million private jet that’s owned by Elon Musk, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jeff Bezos

The take-off wing wave

The video, shared by JM AVIATION showed the Airbus A380 (LH9860) taxiing along the runway.

They then took off from Munich Airport (MUC) en route to Leipzig Halle Airport (LEJ) in the same country.

The 42-minute Lufthansa flight was ferrying no passengers – which is fortunate considering the stomach-dipping ‘extreme’ wing wave the pilot performed shortly after leaving the tarmac.

Often used as an emotional final farewell, the wing wave of Virgin Atlantic’s ‘flying billboard’ Boeing 747 showed it bow out in style.

Moreover, this Southwest Airlines 737-700 also performed a full-power takeoff and stunningly low wing wave.

The exact plane in question was the Airbus A380-841 D-AIML per Flightradar24.

At the time of writing, after already having touched down from Delhi (DEL), India, to Munich, the plane had a six-hour window before leaving for Los Angeles LAX on the west coast of the US – now that’s busy.

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is easily one of the world’s most iconic airplanes ever.

And that’s predominantly because of its immense size, making it the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

Measuring 73 meters and with a wingspan of nearly 80 meters, the Airbus A380 is large enough to accommodate up to 520 passengers.

Some billionaires even use it as a private jet — well, it could be called a private flying palace since it’s not comparable to any other ‘regular’ private aircraft that most people own.

There have been numerous design ideas for converting it into a flying palace.

While some did come to fruition, others remained as ideas and never left the pages.


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Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

London-based Amelia cut her journalistic teeth covering all things lifestyle, wellness and luxury in the UK capital. Fast-forward a decade and the experienced content creator and editor has put pen to paper for glossy magazines, busy newsrooms and coveted brands. When her OOO is on you can find her spending quality time with her young family, in the gym or exploring the city she loves.