A United Airlines 777-300ER plane flies over San Francisco during Fleet Week.

Fleet Week in San Francisco, a highly anticipated, often controversial annual event, is best known for the wall-shaking antics of the Blue Angels. But amid the display of Navy ships and military prowess, one of the most jaw-dropping parts of the event is watching United Airlines’ massive airliner swoop over iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, seemingly missing it by a matter of feet.

The people at the controls during these demonstrations aren’t your typical commercial pilots. One of them, Capt. Ty Loutzenheiser, explained the role to SFGATE in a video call on Friday, “We specifically only do flight test events — we don't carry passengers.”

A United Airlines 777-300ER plane flies over San Francisco during Fleet Week.

A United Airlines 777-300ER plane during Fleet Week.

Getting a spot in the Fleet Week air show is based not only on technical skills, but also on your reputation within the airline’s rarefied group of test pilots. United only has 25. They can’t apply for the position directly, but instead are nominated by current or former team members.

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On the day of the air show, the team takes off from San Francisco International Airport and circles over the ocean just west of the Golden Gate Bridge until it’s time for their performance. “We’re at about 300 knots........

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