Dutch pilot Christiaan van Heijst frequently shares photographs of the views he sees from his cockpit.
This time, Mr Christiaan took to Instagram to share a stunning picture of a rare moment he captured from
a Boeing 747 window while flying over the North Atlantic. In the caption of his post, he said he was a few
hundred kilometres south of Iceland when he came across a “turquoise aerial fire” in the form of aurora
borealis. He said the city lights of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, illuminated the horizon in a contrasting
orange glow far away.
“A few hundred miles south of Iceland, somewhere over the North Atlantic ocean. A turquoise aerial fire in
the form of aurora borealis while the city lights of Reykjavik illuminate the horizon in a contrasting, orange
glow, far away,” Mr Christiaan wrote.
In the caption of the post, the Dutch pilot also shared an entertaining story behind snapping the picture.
“Artificial lights on the horizon: a beacon of civilisation and connectedness to the world after many hours
of isolation: no communication in my headset except for the bare minimums in regard to procedures, nor
any personal interaction from my Icelandic captain, who’s been mute ever since the landing gear went up
on the other side of the planet. A character known for his absolute approach to colleagues and deliberate
lack of conversational depth during flight,” he explained.
