A plane-mad tot and his mum were left 'astonished' after capturing the moment a jet pilot waved at them as he flew in to land right over their heads. Natalie Smyth took her four-year-old son Alfie to Boscombe Down runway to see if they could catch a glimpse of the South Korean Air Force's famous Black Eagles display team.
The pair parked up by the Ministry of Defence airfield to see the team touch down after hearing them roar up into the sky 40 minutes earlier to practise their aerobatic routines. The incredible footage shows Black Eagle #7 zoom into view as it comes in to land and speed past just feet from the heads of the eager onlookers.
As the T-50 jet hurtles overhead the pilot spots his enthusiastic audience and gives them a friendly wave. The 31-year-old mum filmed the last pilot coming in 'crazy low' and explained how when she and Alfie then looked back through the footage they realised the pilot was giving them a cheery signal.
Natalie, from Amesbury, said: "We looked back through it and said 'Oh my god he's waving!' - I couldn't believe it because obviously he went past in a split second, so I'd never have seen it in the moment.
"It's crazy - I don't know how you have time to even think when you're doing anything like that.
"The first planes weren't too low, and they got lower as they came in, and then the last one was very close to the fence - it was like a competition of who can get the lowest!
"You felt like you could touch them, they were that close.
"The noise was so loud but really cool - my ears are still a little bit sore, but thank god Alfie had his ear defenders."
The mum explained how Alfie is already fascinated by the planes and helicopters that climb into the sky from the nearby military airfield - and he's now keen to point out any aircraft he spots.
Natalie said: "He's very into cars and lorries and army stuff already, and obviously we have lots of planes and helicopters overhead, so this has definitely piqued his interest as well. It's very cool to see.
"He was excited the whole time but the three that did come lower scared him a bit - I don't think he expected them to come quite as low as they did.
"He's now been running around every time a plane comes over saying, 'Black Eagles!' He's definitely a fan."
The display team had set up camp at Boscombe Down to practise their daring routines for upcoming airshows including the International Air Tattoo, something civil servant Natalie says is an amazing sight to see from their house nearby.
Natalie said: "It's crazy to have them in Wiltshire. We do get the most random things here anyway, like the Novichok poisonings, so at least we're getting something good this time to counteract the Russians.
"They brought the jets over in parts with all their engineers and rebuilt them at Boscome Down, which seems crazy to me.
"Last week they did two complete practises of their 30-minute routine over our house and we were able to watch the full display, so having them here has just been amazing."
