Arab News Japan

Polish pilot Łukasz Czepiela landed a plane atop Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab high-rise building helipad on Tuesday, marking a record-breaking achievement in the world of flying.

Czepiela is best known for being the first Polish pilot to compete at Red Bull Air Race and winning the world championship in the Challenger class, as well as being an Airbus A320 captain.

“The idea came to us right after the pier landing in Sopot. It was the next step in testing what could be done with an airplane,” Czepiela said in a statement on Red Bull’s website. “When I came up with the idea to land a plane on a helipad, I instantly thought of Burj Al Arab. Moreover, I knew that Dubai is open for such innovative ideas,” he added.

To land on the helipad, which is 27m in diameter and located at 212m above ground level, Czepiela completed over 650 practice landings on on a simulator over two years before the attempt on top of the 56-story hotel. However, the stunt was the first time he performed the landing in real life.

World first 🎯@lc_aerobatics lands a plane on the iconic 56-story @Burjalarab 🤯👏 #bullseye #redbull #givesyouwiiings pic.twitter.com/dLRqJaxPkw

— Red Bull Motorsports (@redbullmotors) March 14, 2023

The stunt was preformed while flying an aircraft that was made by American company CubCrafters, which was modified specifically for this landing.

“Landing at the height of 200m, with no clear points of reference, is completely different from landing on the ground… I had to fully trust my own skills. On the helipad, there was no room for mistakes,” Czepiela said.