Cockpit View of Planes Flying Past Shocks Internet: 'Terrifying'

A video of a pilot's view of planes zooming by during a flight has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted by @flyhigh738, who is a pilot, according to several videos shared from their TikTok account. The video has received over 983,000 views since it was posted on September 10.

A message overlaid across the clip, which captures a view from the cockpit of an aircraft, said: "When you travel by plane and think the sky is so big that you're alone up there..."

The camera showed a surreal view over clouds before panning towards what appeared to be the tip of the plane wing, which is labeled Ryanair, the low-cost Irish carrier.

The footage later showed an aircraft in the distance through the cockpit window. Another message across the video read: "But you're actually almost always flying so so close to other planes," as the camera followed the aircraft flying past above.

5,000 Planes in the Sky 'At Any Given Moment'

The latest viral post comes as air travel continues to see strong growth in the post-pandemic era, according to a July 2023 report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Globally, air traffic in May 2023 was found to be at 96.1 percent of May 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, the IATA report said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for 5.3 million square miles of U.S. domestic airspace and 24 million square miles of U.S. airspace over the oceans.

According to the FAA, there are approximately 5,000 aircraft traveling across U.S. skies "at any given moment," with 5,400 aircraft in the sky at "peak operational times."

There are 43,290 average daily flights in and out of the country, with 2.9 million passengers flying in and out of U.S. airports every day, according to the FAA.

The U.S. has 19,633 airports and around a third of all flights in the country "touch" New York, "flying to or from John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports, connecting with those flights or transiting New York airspace," the FAA wrote.

Therefore, "severe weather impacting New York has a ripple-down effect over the entire country."

How Close Do Planes Fly Near Each Other?

The footage in the latest viral post shows a plane flying past, leaving a cloud-like white trail behind, as seen from the cockpit.

A note across the clip said: "As we're most of the times following standard airways, kind of motorways in the sky...we're only distant 1,000 feet (or 300 meters) from each other."

Reauxtar351 noted: "1000 feet, not that close..." and the original poster replied: "When flying at 500mph/850kph, yeah I consider it close."

User @reeced03 asked: "why do those planes look like they go so slow shouldn't they wizz past you at like 1000 mph."

The original poster replied: "Even though we're 'close', 300 [meters] is still a lot, so it seems like it's slow. Also the dimension is a factor. A small plane will seem faster than a big 1."

Danny Young asked: "And you don't flash your lights at each other like truckers or buses etc!?" The original poster replied: "We do sometimes but at night."

The video later shows another aircraft flying ahead with a white trail behind it. Another message across the screen says "Beautiful, isn't it?" as the clip ends.

'Terrifying'

Several TikTokers were impressed but also terrified by the latest video, such a Chuy Hernandez who said: "Information I did not need to know...scary and impressive."

Sam wrote: "That looks terrifying." The original poster said: "Why is that terrifying? It's so fascinating seeing other planes flying around you up there."

Forklift Certified G said: "I'll be honest, that's scary as hell. Colliding with another plane is another fear unlocked."

Tik Toker noted: "The distance always scares me because what if something broke off from a plane and hit the other plane."

Others were simply blown away by the clip, such as user mareike who wrote: "the coolest way of plane spotting."

Sam Sanderson said: "Flying actually freaks me out. It's just wild that we're all floating so high up. It's bonkers."

420Drizzy_ noted: "Planes should be part of the 'wonders of the world' it's too crazy when u think [about] it."

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