“Mysterious Pilot’s Halo” Circles American Airlines Plane

On August 7, American Airlines posted an eerie image to the company’s Twitter account. The photo shows a rarely captured “pilot’s halo” optical phenomenon. 

The post showing the shadow of a 737 bound from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) surrounded by a rainbow-colored halo or glory, has captured the imaginations of social media users. A handful of passengers even posted their own images of this seldom-witnessed occurrence. In a later update to Twitter, the airline noted that the optical phenomenon is also referred to as a “glory of the pilot.”

There is some debate over the causes and conditions required for this unique and haunting visual effect. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), a pilot’s halo is part of the more sinister sounding but harmless “Brocken Specter” effect. NOAA describes a Brocken Specter as “an optical phenomenon sometimes occurring at high altitudes when the image of an observer placed between the sun and a cloud is projected on the cloud as a greatly magnified shadow. The shadow’s head is surrounded by rings of color called a glory.”

The phenomenon is thought to require very specific atmospheric conditions. Nav Canada, the entity that operates Canada’s Civil Air Navigation System, suggests that pilots of smaller aircraft use the sighting of a pilot’s halo as an alert to possible icing conditions.

[Photo: American Airlines]