South African airline defends low-altitude aerial stunt over packed stadium

Meanwhile, the South African airline behind a dramatic stunt that saw two of its aircraft in close formation fly reportedly within feet of the top of a stadium has defended itself in the face of some criticism.

Key points

• The match, immortalised in the Hollywood film Invictus, was highly symbolic as the country's first black president, Nelson Mandela, donned the jersey of national side.
• 'I was born in South Africa', notes beauty queen facing legal bid to deport her.
• While others have praised the precision and expertise required to pull it off, some labelled the manoeuvre reckless.
• In response, Airlink remarked it was carefully planned with the backing of the aviation authorities.
• Performance, was the airline's message in social media posts, external accompanied by the footage.

For context, the jets roared over Cape Town's DHL stadium as flares shot up before the start of a rugby match featuring fierce rivals South Africa and New Zealand.

"Planning. Precision. Performance, " was the airline's message in social media posts, external accompanied by the footage.

In an official note reproduced on a administration news site, external, Airlink went into more detail.

"The two aircraft were flown by highly experienced crew, with each comprised of three senior captains operating in the roles of commander, co-pilot and safety/technical officer, " the airline remarked.

It continued that the flights were performed with the "approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits for the flypast".

Meanwhile, the flight tracking website Flightradar24, external remarked that according to its analysis "the lead aircraft passed less than 50 feet (15 metres) above the top of the stadium".

Questions have been raised over the risk and potential for disaster involving two planes and a packed stadium, but plenty of South Africans have responded with expressions of national pride that its country's pilots could pull this off.

For context, the low-altitude flyby has become a feature of the build-up to some major matches.

For context, the most notable was when a South African Airways jet flew over a Johannesburg stadium before the start of the 1995 rugby World Cup final which saw South Africa beat New Zealand.

Notably, the match, immortalised in the Hollywood film Invictus, was highly symbolic as the country's first black president, Nelson Mandela, donned the jersey of national side. It had been closely associated with the apartheid administration and previously excluded players who were not white. South Africa hold off All Blacks fightback to level series.

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Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

For now, south African airline defends low-altitude aerial stunt over packed stadium remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.