Photos of the Week: Ominous Bird of Yore

We love seeing any aircraft flying into Pittsburgh International Airport. Really, we do.

This Atlas Air 747-400 captured by Austin Hull as it arrived at PIT is part of the company’s charter passenger fleet, which contains more 747s than any other in the world. In fact, the last 747 ever produced belongs to Atlas Air, which is headquartered outside New York City.

We don’t see 747s on a regular basis at PIT, so this was a noteworthy visit. Except… well, this 747 was carrying the Baltimore Ravens, who were coming to town last week to play our Pittsburgh Steelers.

American football fans probably understand our apprehension, but for those who don’t pay attention to the NFL, the Ravens are the sworn enemies of the Steelers. For most of the last two decades, games between Baltimore and Pittsburgh have been fierce battles that always factor heavily in conference titles and playoff success.

There is certainly a mutual respect between the teams, which are stylistically similar in their emphasis on hard-nosed defenses and punishing running games.

But for Steelers fans, seeing even a single Ravens jersey in town just gets under the skin. This is a whole plane full of them!

Atlas Air charters for a number of professional football teams, not just the Ravens, so we hope to welcome the next 747 with our arms a bit more open.

This game between two well-respected teams drew a lot of national eyeballs, including an eye-in-the-sky perspective from the iconic Goodyear Blimp (which occasionally stops at Allegheny County Airport).

Goodyear was kind enough to provide us with this breathtaking shot of Pittsburgh they took during the game. You can see the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, and a packed Acrisure Stadium at the bottom of the photo.

Thanks, Austin and Goodyear!

Our readers continue to pass along shots of unique aircraft, international airports, historical events, gorgeous views and even family vacation photos for this feature. We love them! Keep them coming—you can click here for submission guidelines.

An aerial view of downtown Pittsburgh and Acrisure Stadium from the Goodyear Blimp. (Photo submitted by Goodyear)