747 over Manhattan 12.29.2009 around 9:58 am ???

**chrisparypa** · 12-29-2009, 04:29 PM

Hi I've seen 747 - altitude I don't wanna lie but probably no more than 5000 ft... or even lower between 3000-5000ft.... yeee I know this is not unusual but this 747 was right over Manhattan around 9:58 am... I saw this aircraft today like a 10 blocks from the the Williamsburg Bridge. Aircraft was turning... looks like was flying from LGA (!??) made a left turn and flew from the over Manhattan to New Jersey..... I don't know what airlines.... I was driving and got excited anyway :P never seen 747 flying on low altitude over Manhattan... any explanation ??

**Tom_Turner** · 12-29-2009, 07:02 PM

That is Mighty unusual Chris (as you already know it seems). Many (many) years ago you might see that (it was exceedingly rare then) but the aircraft would break over Brooklyn towards JFK - undercutting the LGA approach over downtown Brooklyn.

There were high winds though.. so I am going to guess EWR traffic way out of place for some odd reason and on the way to the cross runway? Some years back I saw a Continental 747 at about 5000 over the West Side making its way towards EWR where typically you'd only see ATRs (as the only EWR traffic) make that approach, but again that was the West Side. Decidedly more odd you saw this over the east side.

But all useless speculation here on my part. Maybe someone can find the flight on one of those maps so we can be sure what it was...

Tom

**chrisparypa** · 12-29-2009, 07:45 PM

That was really weird :) 747 on really low altitude over Manhattan.... maybe new SID :)

**USAF Pilot 07** · 12-29-2009, 09:57 PM

What you saw was a Kalitta Air 747 from Amsterdam to Newark.

http://www4.passur.com/ewr.html

Winds were ridiculous this morning (~30 kts out of the West sustained with higher gusts), so EWR was using what looks like an approach to RWY 22L, circle-to-land 29.

This one probably got vectors off the approach and then back to final to intercept an approach to 29 because it would probably not have been able to circle successfully using CAT D circling criteria (the highest category circle for the approach to 22L); hence why you saw it over Manhattan...

**Matt Molnar** · 12-29-2009, 09:58 PM

I may have found it on Passur.

A Kalitta 742 from Amsterdam came in from the northwest, then made a left turn toward Hoboken at around 2400 feet, then made a U-turn over the Hudson to land on Runway 29 at EWR.