A plane just flew REALLY low overhead...

We have a small civil-military airport nearby, so I'm guessing it was aiming for that, but this plane was SUPER low, with its landing gear down, and banking sharply - it turned close to 360 degrees very sharply while I was watching it.

It looked more like a commercial airliner as well - the airport is mostly for military use, with a few private planes, and the big planes we see never fly in that direction so low.

I'm probably just paranoid given the recent plane crashes and I'm flying tomorrow but still....

Yikes! Living next to a military base; I've seen my fair share of planes that didn't look like they were quite where they were supposed to be! I guess they could have been having some trouble so were making a landing at that airport.

The Oklahoma Spaceport isn't too far away from where I live and the flight path to it goes right over my in-laws' house. You should try having three chinooks fly over low enough for you to feel the wind off them!

Oh, I hate that! The Snowbirds fly here every year, they used to do their stunts right where we live; they'd be flying right above our house. I can't watch, I'm always too worried there will be an accident and I don't want to see it.

p.s. Have a good trip!

I'm not too sure, but there are times where either the government or private company (NavCanada over here) performs routine checks of the instrument approaches at airports. The airplanes that are testing the approaches tend to fly some low crazy patterns. Maybe that's what they were doing?

Best of luck with your flight tomorrow though! I'm sure you'll be just fine

I live next to an airport too, and even though you get used to it somewhat, those low planes still spook me!

have a safe and fun trip!

At one time one of my uncles lived where jets from Fort Knox would fly over and practice targeting on a lake about a quarter mile from his house. When visiting one time I actually ducked because they were that low.

I lived 2 miles from O'Hare airport for a period of time. The planes that were landing were close to eye level to my 13th floor apartment. One time while flying in, I was able to see my cat sitting in the window. He was waiting for me of course and I waved as I passed by.

The same plane took off again not long after - also very low and even closer! I could see that the pattern on the tail was military, so that's a relief! There was a heap of planes coming and going today, so something must have been happening there

Looking on Google Maps, I'm probably a bit under 2 miles from the end of the runway (as the crow flies).

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

...I can't watch, I'm always too worried there will be an accident and I don't want to see it.

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My family used to go to air shows a lot, since half of us are pilots and all of us love planes... but not anymore.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I lived 2 miles from O'Hare airport for a period of time. The planes that were landing were close to eye level to my 13th floor apartment. One time while flying in, I was able to see my cat sitting in the window. He was waiting for me of course and I waved as I passed by.

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Now THAT'S close!!

Several years ago parents and I were on the 18th floor of a Chicago hotel not far from the lake. It just so happened that there was an air show that weekend so I got to see quite the assortment of aircraft close up - including the Goodyear blimp and a military jet where I could see the pilot!

Charleston Air Force Base is nearby where Rob works, and there's always low-flying C-17s over head there. I ducked once when one went over

When we were driving to Miami, as we went through Ft. Lauderdale there was a plane landing on the runway ... it seemed SO low over I-95, and you could watch it land right next to the interstate. I almost felt like I could touch it out the window as it went over!

Have a safe flight, I'm sure all will be fine!!

I live within 5 miles of a military base. It's called Dobbins air base or something of the sort i'm not even sure. But it's very open and the tracks where the planes land are literally feet away from a major road. There is a shopping center across from the tracks and it is soo scary when you shop there you can sometimes see the planes flying just a little bit higher than the building lenght, and you can not hear anything but loud noise I'm glad I don't live nearer to it.

We used to have military planes routinely flying over our town, and they would be just slightly above the treetops.

I saw and heard what I thought was a really low-flying plane the other evening...then I walked closer to the window and realized it was probably the new President! It was three helicopters flying close together, and I can't think of any other reason to see that in my area... He took a helicopter from O'hare to the south side so it must have been them.

Originally Posted by gemlady

Several years ago parents and I were on the 18th floor of a Chicago hotel not far from the lake. It just so happened that there was an air show that weekend so I got to see quite the assortment of aircraft close up - including the Goodyear blimp and a military jet where I could see the pilot!

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That would have excited me and freaked me out all at once! But then my drive home from my last job had me driving right below C5's that were about to touch down all the time. If you don't know how big a C5 is...it's big. My step-dad used to call them flying pigs. It can hold over sized cargo. There was a few times when I could see it coming in through my rear-view mirrors, then it would pass right over me. Once it was dark and I didn't hear anything till it was right over me; now that freaked me out!