FlightRadar website crashes as millions log on to follow Queen's final flight
The Queen has crashed the FlightRadar24 website, with an unprecedented six million people logging on to the aeroplane tracker to follow the Queen's final flight.
Queen Elizabeth II died after spending more than 70 years on the throne on September 8.
Her body has since been moved to Edinburgh for a public farewell, before being transported to London on Tuesday (September 13) on a C-17 Globemaster transport plane.
The trip was tracked online by FlightRadar24, who have since revealed that it is the most-watched plane in the website's history.
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"70 years after her first flight as Queen aboard the BOAC Argonaut 'Atalanta', Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight is the most tracked flight in FlightRadar24 history," the tracker site said in a statement.
Being the most-watched flight in the site's history did, however, come with some limitations.
The statement added: "In the minute after the transponder of [the Queen's final flight] activated, an unprecedented six million people attempted to follow the flight," the site said.
This led to the site crashing, with the site undertaking 'additional platform stability controls' in order to limit the rate at which new users could access the tracker.
FlightTracker24 added: "Over the course of the flight 4.79 million people followed a portion of the flight, and we processed 76.2 million requests related to the flight."
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin has since arrived at Buckingham Palace after being transported Edinburgh to west London’s RAF Northolt airbase, then by car to the palace.
The Royal Family received the coffin on its arrival at the palace.
It will rest in the Bow Room overnight before continuing on in a silent procession on Wednesday (September 14) to Westminster Hall.
She will lie there for four days until her funeral on September 19, after which her coffin will travel to Windsor where she will be laid to rest within St George's Chapel alongside her husband, Prince Philip.
The plane used for the Queen's final journey has an incredible history of its own.
Head of the Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston told Sky News that the plane has helped 'extensively' in disaster relief efforts around the world, as per Yahoo News.
It also helped to evacuate thousands of people fleeing the Taliban in Kabul last year and has been used to take humanitarian aid and weapons to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February.
Topics: The Queen, Royal Family, UK News, Travel
Rachel Lang