PREVIEW

**ORIGINAL VERSION**

WORDS BYLINE: Hayley Chamberlain

Forget secret handshakes – pilots have their own way of acknowledging each other in the sky, and one young captain has captured the rare moment on film.

Javier, a 23-year-old airline pilot from Spain, was cruising at altitude when he spotted another jet approaching on his instruments. Instead of the usual routine, the passing crew gave a friendly flash of their lights – and Javier captured the moment on camera.

“That’s exactly what happened on this flight,” he said. “Crossing another aircraft at that altitude is completely normal. But when they flash their lights and you reply, it's a funny and friendly gesture that sometimes happens between crews.”

Conditions couldn’t have been better for the unusual encounter. “At cruise altitude, the flight is usually steady and visibility was very good that day, so I just managed to record a nice, clear video,” Javier explained.

He’d already seen the other aircraft coming in. “I already knew another aircraft was coming in that direction. I decided to record it, and the timing worked out. Normally, nothing happens, but this time it turned into a friendly moment.”

For Javier, it wasn’t so much the sighting that was special – but the fact he managed to capture it. “Usually, you don't manage to record it, sometimes you're busy with other tasks or simply don't think about filming. The situation itself is not unusual, but having such a clear and nice video of it definitely is.”

The footage, filmed during a calm stretch of flight with little workload, has since been shared with aviation fans worldwide – offering a rare peek at the camaraderie between pilots, even at 35,000ft.