There is dramatic video footage of a Southwest Airlines plane taking off from what appears to be New York City when a drone hits the tip of the wing as takes it off. Added to the LiveLeak website approximately 2 hours ago — at around 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 23 –by a user named Dblake19 , the video has gotten nearly 45,000 plays, according to LiveLeak .
“Some idiot’s drone crossed our take-off path. I’m still alive!”
The comments section is rife with people debating whether or not the video is real, with the Southwest Airlines logo clearly visible as the drone hits the wing tip. Screenshots from the video have also been posted in the LiveLeak comments section, attempting to prove it is a real video.
As reported by the Inquisitr , a man shot at a drone hovering over his house, but that incident appeared to be a publicity stunt. As for the drone apparently hitting a Southwest Airlines airplane, the Next Web says it’s fake. A drone didn’t hit a Southwest plane , says the website, claiming that the website URL of Bruce Branit , a director, writer, and visual effects maker shows up on the wing. It’s hard to see Branit.com on the wing of the Southwest Airlines plane.
With the news full of reports of Southwest Airlines pilots spotting a drone flying near Oakland International Airport and another drone near Houston’s Hobby Airport, it’s no wonder the Southwest Airlines plane encountering a drone and being struck by a drone isn’t a far stretch of the imagination. Plus, the video so perfectly shows the reaction of frightened passengers and the pilot’s reaction of likely telling the Southwest passengers to put on their seatbelts after what seems like a drone hit.
Making something viral is like fishing. Gotta put something good on the hook. But still no guarantee you’re going to catch anything.
— Bruce Branit (@branitfx) June 22, 2015
On June 22, Branit tweeted his wisdom about making a viral video, although he doesn’t yet mention the Southwest Airlines drone hit video directly. Chances are, Southwest Airlines won’t take kindly to this little stunt. As of this writing, there is no mention of drones on the Southwest Airlines Twitter page.
According to the Next Web , Branit didn’t post the video to LiveLeak but to his company’s YouTube page, which is reportedly private. As for the viral footage of the drone allegedly striking the Southwest Airlines plane, Branit doesn’t know how it went viral — and is reportedly working on a video to explain the whole Southwest Airlines drone video editing process. Final Cut Pro, anyone?
[Image via LiveLeak]