Low-flying plane not a high communication priority
Several people, including one of our co-workers, report being freaked out by the sight of a low-flying plane in downtown Greensboro Tuesday. In a post-9/11 world, who wouldn't be?
Turns out the aircraft was a Navy submarine-hunting plane, the News & Record confirms.
Says our article: "The plane circled low over the city Tuesday afternoon, drawing brief attention from law enforcement and from callers to 911."
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman acknowledged the Navy plane was in the area but said little else.
City officials and law enforcement seemed in the dark about the episode.
You'd think authorities would communicate better about such matters.
If they can't share information on Navy maneuvers, what happens in the event of a real attack?
Comments (6)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
So I suppose no one has any idea what *kind* of submarine these folks were looking for in a city that doesn't even have a river? How bizarre.
Regards,
Posted on August 17, 2006 9:37 AM
It was looking for subs in Buffalo Lake. Cone Mills might not be the superpower it once was, but its military remains a threat. :-)
Posted on August 17, 2006 9:48 AM
You would think someone would have noticed the freight-carrying helicopters when they dropped it *in* the lake, wouldn't you?
:-)
Have a great weekend,
Posted on August 18, 2006 10:51 AM
The more benign explanation probably is that it was using PTI to practice touch and go landings. It isn't uncommon to see large military aircraft do that, especially in mid-day when not much else is coming in and out.
The reason PTI is often used is that it has long runways and low traffic during the day. I saw a P-3 flying out of there once before and assumed it was just practicing approaches. The reason it would be low over town is that it doesn't make sense to get very high in the area when you are just flying around to make another approach right after you get up in the air.
Posted on August 19, 2006 6:45 PM
That makes sense, Dudley. So why not alert the locals so they'll be expecting it?
Posted on August 20, 2006 3:57 PM
That's a good question. If that was, in fact, what was going on someone at the airport should have been able to verify it. I think part of it is that it's gone on for so long nobody would think much about it. Same thing with the Navy, but still someone should have looked into it and returned a call. It's understandable that it takes people aback, even more so when it's a Navy plane, which wouldn't make any sense on the face of it.
Posted on August 21, 2006 10:13 PM