Palmy’s phallic flight path: Massey tradition or just a huge set of balls?

Registrations for the upcoming Aviation Open Day have increased following the incident. Photo / Flightrader

Two weeks ago, a Massey Aviation student took solo flight to a new level, tracing a giant penis and testicles into the flight path — caught on Flightradar.  

The anonymous student piloted a Diamond DA40 Star, a four-seat training aircraft, from Palmerston North Airport to Paraparaumu and back.  

When asked for comment, a group of aviation students told Massive their chief executive had forbidden the cohort from discussing the matter with anyone. 

Aviation school chief executive Ashok Poduval told Massive, “The student concerned has provided an explanation, an apology for deviating from the authorised flight plan and given an assurance that they would behave in a professional manner in future”. 

At first glance the incident is terrible PR, but Poduval said registrations for the upcoming Aviation Open Day had actually increased in the days following the incident. 

Poduval said although the student didn’t break any rules, the School of Aviation takes the behaviour seriously and expects all students to adhere to flight paths on solo flights. 

A message about the incident was sent to all Aviation students reminding them to adhere to authorised exercises, he said.  

Some are glad to see aviation students take a moment to ease off the gas, with social media comments having a good giggle at the incident. 

While Poduval said to the best of his knowledge there had been no similar incidents, some suggest this phallic incident may not be a one off, rather a rite of passage for Aviation students. 

Taking to Reddit, many anonymous ex or current aviation students commented on the incident, highlighting its prolificness.  

One user said, “I did this during my training 15+ years ago. It’s such an innocuous thing.”  

“I've done a far bigger one on that appeared on flight radar 24, luckily the offended brigade wasn't watching,” another shared.   

Another user said, “Isn’t this like, tradition.”  

And another said, “Fun fact: they all do this”. Upon Massive asking the user to elaborate, they said, “One of my friends studied there and he used to send me pictures of his and his friends’ ones.”

While official expectations remain clear, rising enrolments suggest these airborne anatomies aren’t going anywhere soon. 

Some vessels simply can’t be grounded.