Stunt pilot Dario Costa flies plane through two tunnels, sets World Records. Watch

Professional race and stunt pilot Dario Costa on Saturday flew a raceplane through two enclosed auto tunnels just outside Istanbul on Friday, registering his name in the Guinness Book of World Record.

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Rewriting a new chapter in aviation history, the Italian fired up his modified Zivko Edge 540 race plane inside one of the dual Çatalca Tunnels on Turkey’s Northern Marmara Highway and then continued his 245kph flight through the second tunnel, flying less than 1m from the asphalt.

With over two decades of flying experience and numerous aviation feats to his credit, the 41-year-old had logged over 5,000 hours in the air – more than half in high-performance aerobatics. He’d even become the first Italian to notch a win in the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Class.

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The aircraft travelled 2.26 kilometres from takeoff till entering the second tunnel. Dario Costa has established a verified Guinness World Record plus four more in less than 44 seconds.

Costa was awarded a certificate for setting a Guinness World Record for the Longest Tunnel Flown Through with an Aeroplane (1,610m) during the Tunnel Pass trip. The first aeroplane flight via a tunnel, the longest flight beneath a solid barrier, the first aeroplane flight through two tunnels, and the first aeroplane departure from a tunnel were the other four significant records.

Meanwhile, describing his experience, Costa said, “Everything seemed to be happening so fast, but when I got out of the first tunnel, the plane started to move to the right because of the crosswinds, and in my head, everything slowed down in that moment. I reacted and just focused on getting the plane back on the right path to enter the other tunnel. Then in my mind, everything sped up all over again,” according to Red Bull’s official website.

“I’d never flown in a tunnel in my life – nobody had ever done it – so there was a big question mark in my head whether everything would go as we expected,” Costa added. “It was a big relief, of course, but big, big happiness was the main emotion. For me, it’s another dream come true.”