Something spectacular happened over our heads on Friday: Three Red Bull Wingsuit pilots jumped out of a helicopter over Dublin and subsequently flew towards and then through the gap between the iconic ESB chimneys at Poolbeg. It seems to be part of a series of flights through landmarks and just three weeks ago wingsuit pilots flew through the gap at the Tower Bridge in London.
Nobody thinks that wingsuiting is a safe sport, Red Bull themselves say “Wingsuit flying is the most dangerous extreme sport in the world”, but it is still laughable that the ESB felt they had to release a statement calling the event a “serious safety incident”. Sometimes it is just better to say nothing. Have a look at the great flight here: www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0531/1452382-dublin-skydive/
Red Bull is known for usually getting all necessary permissions and since the ESB probably doesn’t own the airspace above their buildings or between their chimneys they probably didn’t need to be asked.
The City of London took a different stance when the pilots flew during a much more spectacular stunt “through” the Tower Bridge. They didn’t complain about a safety incident, instead they supported the event by closing the Tower Bridge for the event. In London UK air traffic control also kept the airspace clear for the event on 12 May and a pontoon was installed in the Thames for the landing of the pilots. In Dublin ESB complains about a “serious safety incident”. Interesting!
