The phenomenon of an aeroplane that flies ‘before it takes off’ is not an error in the continuum of space-time; it regularly happens as a result of the way trans-Pacific aircraft cross the International Date Line (IDL) between Japan and California. According to NOAA, a flight from Japan to California, if it crosses the IDL from west to east traveling East from Japan on a Saturday, the aircraft crosses the 180-degree meridian, requiring the calendar to be reset back to Friday. High-speed aircraft, notably the SR-71 Blackbird, could take advantage of this geographic ‘loophole’ by flying at over Mach 3.2, allowing pilots and passengers to outrun the rotation of the earth and ‘gain’ a day while arriving at their destination on the previous day. By maintaining these speeds, the aircraft essentially 'buys' time against the morning sun, effectively making the crew some of the only humans to consistently arrive before they departed.
