RSAF pilot’s flight path raises eyebrows: MINDEF cites ‘pure coincidence’ in phallic resemblance

PERTH, AUSTRALIA: A flight path traced by a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aircraft sparked a frenzy among aviation enthusiasts in Western Australia last Thursday (28 Sep).

As word spread, social media users on Reddit joined in, likening the unintentional formation above Bullsbrook, located 41 kilometres north of Perth, to a rather suggestive symbol.

In jest, a user quipped, “Might want to get that lump (on the phallic) checked out…”

Meanwhile, another user humorously noted, “Not as good as the one the yanks drew over Europe pointing at Russia,” referring to the 2022 incident where a United States Air Force pilot allegedly intentionally created a similar pattern near a Russian base in Syria.

Amidst the discussion, some poked fun at the pilot, suggesting the pilot had a sense of humour; while others pondered who had enough free time to scrutinize flight radar data and identify such humorous resemblances.

The RSAF swiftly addressed the situation, taking to Facebook on Sunday (1 Oct) to clarify that any resemblance between the aircraft’s flight pattern and certain images was “purely coincidental”.

In a light-hearted touch, they even ventured to compare the pattern to Clippy, the iconic paperclip assistant familiar to users of Microsoft Office in the 2000s.

“Any resemblance of aircraft flight patterns to images is not intentional and purely coincidental.”

“In fact, we think it resembled Clippy the paperclip. What do you think?”

The RSAF flight, conducted by a Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, commenced its one-hour journey from Bullsbrook at 12:25 pm and concluded at the same location by 1:28 pm, according to PerthNow, an Australian media outlet.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) acknowledged the online reports of radar traces documenting the flight pattern over the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Base Pearce in Western Australia.

The spokesperson told the Singapore state media the Straits Times that the RSAF training flights are undertaken with professional training objectives in mind, involving fundamental aircraft manoeuvres such as turns, instrument approaches, and circuit patterns.

The RSAF’s connection with the RAAF dates back to March 1993 when an agreement was signed to establish a flying detachment for pilot, weapon systems officer, and flying instructor training.

In 2017, this agreement was renewed, extending the RSAF’s use of the base until 2043. The airspace available for training at Pearce is significantly larger, measuring 14 times the size of Singapore.

This incident is not an isolated one when it comes to accidental genitalia-shaped flight patterns.

In August, a Lufthansa pilot, reportedly frustrated over a forced diversion of his flight from Catania, Italy, inadvertently created a similar pattern, as reported by The New York Post.

Lufthansa officials later confirmed that the pattern was indeed coincidental.

In a similar vein, in 2022, the United States Air Force denied allegations that one of its pilots had intentionally drawn a comparable pattern while flying near a Russian base in Syria, asserting that the incident was purely accidental.