<<I'd be seriously concerned if I believed, as M. Mouse seems to think, that the average (non 'ace') airline captain wasn't capable of safely executing a simle fly-by.
And why assume he didn't plan it thoroughly and competently? >>
I am indeed assuming that it wasn't thoroughly planned because if they are unofficial or against the rules they arely are. I was not implying that the average airline captain wasn't capable of safely executing a fly-by but I was implying that an ad-hoc manouevre of this type is recipe for disaster.
If it is such a non-event then why do most companies expressly forbid it?
Out of interest I have been in the right hand seat of a 40 seat turbo-prop doing a very, very low fly-by at a grass airfield. I would have been more comfortable had it not been done to massage the ego of the pilot flying and impress his former flying club colleagues. It would also been a little less alarming had the GPWS circuit breakers been pulled before a myriad of automatic warnings occurred just at the point of beginning the impromptu, and in my mind therefore dangerous, display.
As far as passengers are concerned (even if they are just positioning crew) I equate it to being driven at high speed by somebody else. You are not in control yourself and for that reason alone it can be a very uncomfortable situation.