Fact Check

Does a Video Show a C-17 Globemaster Flying Between Buildings?

A video of an 2018 aerial stunt went viral again in 2021.

Published July 23, 2021

 (Screenshot, CBS17 YouTube page)
Image Via Screenshot, CBS17 YouTube page
Claim:
A video shows a massive C-17 Globemaster flying low through a city's skyline.

In late July 2021, a Reddit user posted a video of an extremely large plane weaving between high-rise buildings in Australia. The surreal video captured a lot of attention online, with some commenters noting that the video brought up disturbing memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City.

The video is real. Although it went viral in the summer of 2021, it's actually from 2018. The plane, a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster, flew at an altitude of just 300 feet over Brisbane, a large coastal city in eastern Australia.

At the time, the Brisbane Times reported that the flyby was a practice run "for the 21st annual Riverfire on Saturday, which has become Queensland’s largest annual public celebration."

The flyby also went viral in 2018 with a video shot from a different angle, in which the massive plane appeared to fly directly at the person holding the camera.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and has covered everything from crime to government to national politics. She has written for ... read more