Research plane flies directly into Hurricane Milton, violent turbulence caught on camera: Watch
‘Miss Piggy,’ the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, flew through the storm as it rained heavily, the view from the passenger side window shows.
A harrowing video shows a research plane flying directly into Hurricane Milton, shaking violently due to heavy turbulence. The video has been released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Aircraft Operations Center.
‘Miss Piggy,’ the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, flew through the storm as it rained heavily, the view from the passenger side window shows. “Bumpy ride into Hurricane #Milton on @NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 "Miss Piggy" to collect data to help improve the forecast and support hurricane research,” the video is captioned.
What does the video show?
At least four NOAA researchers were present inside the plane, New York Post reported. Electrical Engineer Tom Brannigan sat at the AVAPS (Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System) as the plane shook, with the turbulence soon intensifying. The aircraft shook so violently that contents inside a plastic bag tied to a shelf in front of the researcher spilled onto the floor.
“Can you grab my phone real quick?” asked Programs Integration Engineer Nick Underwood, who was filming the video.
Brannigan reached for his colleague’s phone when the turbulence worsened again, and items flew off a shelf. Several objects could be seen on the floor when Underwood pointed his camera at the back of the plane. “Damn,” he exclaimed, laughing.
“Holy crap,” said Underwood, while showing one colleague gripping a cooler tightly to stop it from flying away.
“When you get a chance, can you grab my wallet too? Gotta keep these pockets zipped!” joked Underwood.
Eventually, one can see the plane making it to clearer skies.
“Our NOAA WP-3D Orion aircraft have been flying into storms for almost 50 years,” said Jonathan Shannon, Public Affairs Specialist for NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, according to New York Post.
Shannon added that these missions are important as their scientists “cannot get this important data our forecasters need at this scale and resolution any other way.” “We basically take a weather station to the weather,” he explained.
