A South African airline has defended a daring fly-past over an international rugby match in Cape Town that sparked debate over aviation safety procedures.The incident, which happened above the heads of 56,000 rugby fans, attracted both widespread criticism and admiration online. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed one of the two jets passed less than 15 metres above the top of the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, where South Africa’s Springboks rugby team was about to take on the New Zealand All Blacks.The lead aircraft, liveried in All Blacks colours, roared above the stadium roof at about 150 knots or 275km/h, before pitching up as it cleared the arena.Airplanes fly over the DHL Stadium ahead of the match. Photograph: Inpho/SteveHaagSports/Darren Stewart It was followed closely by a second plane, in Springbok colours, which flew through the coloured smoke of pyrotechnics from the stadium room.Airlink, an airline backed by Qatar Airways and which operates about 70 Embraer SA passenger jets, said the manoeuvres on Saturday were conducted by a crew of senior captains in each aircraft, and required “careful planning and rehearsal”.“The two aircraft were flown by highly experienced crew, with each comprised of three senior captains operating in the roles of commander, co-pilot and safety/technical officer.”The flights were performed within the local aviation authority’s “approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits”, it said in a statement on Sunday.Airlink had promoted the fly-past on social media in advance, advising spectators to “get your cameras ready” in advance of the kick-off.South Africa has a history of buzzing sports stadiums with passenger jets, starting at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, attended by then-president Nelson Mandela.The Springboks, the current world champions, beat the All Blacks 33-26. – Bloomberg