A bizarre moment was captured by an air passenger on a flight in San Francisco when another plane flying over the Golden Gate Bridge appeared to be stuck in the air. The optical illusion showed the flight to be hanging in mid-air without any movement. The video, originally posted on Reddit, has resurfaced on the internet.
Contrary to opinions on the plane defying the laws of aviation, the experts suggest that this occurred due to intricate merging between headwinds and tailwinds that planes navigate during their journeys. While tailwinds provide a boost, helping the aircraft to propel forward, headwinds provide resistance and help them slow down.
At certain times, in such a scenario with headwinds acting upon the plane, the plane can give off the illusion of being still in mid-air, even if it is in motion.
The plane cannot hang in the middle of nowhere. It is a rare phenomenon of wind dynamics and perspective trickery. Invisible factors of nature can often lead to amusing phenomena.