Hunger pangs: Pilot lands chopper next to MCD

MELBOURNE: Fly-thru! A hungry pilot in Australia landed a helicopter near a Mcdonald’s takeaway window to grab a bite.

The green chopper set down on a grassy patch outside the fast food giant’s branch in Sydney with locals left stunned by the incident.

The pilot was seen exiting the aircraft and collecting his order from the nearby Mcdonald’s, before getting back into the chopper and flying away, Nine News Australia reported.

The pilot, who identified himself as ‘Dan’, later told a radio station that he got permission to land at premises.

“Every now and then we do that sort of stuff,” he said.

“Kyle (a radio show host) if you ever need a cheeseburger give us your coordinates of where you live and we’ll drop in with it,” he said. Dan called into the show after radio show hosts Kyle and Jackie O promised the pilot of the helicopter USD 1,000 if he got in touch.

The eyewitnesses present at the spot said, “I thought it was an emergency”. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday evening.

Dan asked for the money to be donated to Ronald Mcdonald House.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said the landing was not technically illegal if the pilot had permission from the owner of the land. The official said, “Was it unusual? Yes. Was it unsafe? We’re not in a position to say until we’ve looked at the footage.”

CASA, however, said investigations into the safety of the chopper s landing and take-off were ongoing.

The concerned authorities said that the pilot’s landing and take-off is under investigation along with the phone recorded video.

Video that went viral shows the pilot with a cap clicking pictures of his chopper with a brown bag in his hands. Later, the man gets into the chopper and flies away.