Storm Eunice: Big Jet TV turns plane-watching into a phenomenon

A live YouTube stream of planes trying to land at Heathrow during Storm Eunice has become an unexpected online hit.

Aviation enthusiast Jerry Dyer has been streaming aircraft's attempts to land at the London airport in winds of up to 70mph on his Big Jet TV channel.

His lively commentary plus the footage as planes approach, sometimes having to abort, have been attracting more than 200,000 live viewers at times.

Dyer told the BBC the feed was "the most exciting stuff you can get".

For several hours on Friday, Dyer has been running the live stream from the roof of a specially adapted van, shouting "go on son", "nicely done" and "fair play mate" at pilots who land successfully.

For trickier landings, he advised pilots to "go around again", and as one pilot abandoned an attempt to touch down at the last second amid strong winds, Dyer exclaimed: "Ooh, he did not like that."

Speaking to BBC Radio 2, Dyer said the compelling footage was "the best scenario you could image" for entertainment value.

"Big kudos to the pilots and the crews working at the airports," he said. "Normally the conditions are calm and we have great shows we do for hours on end, people watching from all over the world.

"But right now, these conditions with 70mph gusting winds, it's pretty intense. And what's great is you get the see the skill of the pilot, and how they manage to handle it."

He noted that planes must divert if they cannot land within three attempts, something he said had happened several times on Friday.

"Many planes are having to abort their landings," he said. "It's a bumpy ride, You have to think of all those folks who are on the aircraft."

Many social media users and celebrities have been glued to the footage.

According to a 2020 interview, Dyer developed a love of planes at an early age, growing up near Heathrow.

He got into live streaming plane landings by accident in about 2015, after his nephew told him Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, a pilot, was flying his plane into London. Dyer raced to the airport and streamed the plane's landing live on Twitter.

The interest and positive feedback led him to keep posting similar content, eventually moving to YouTube, where his audience really took off, and where he has been broadcasting since.