Very Low-Flying NASA Planes To Buzz Power Plants, Spiral Above CA Cities

Californians should not be alarmed if they spot very low-flying airplanes above urban areas this month, NASA officials warned, as the agency readies to launch the planes as part of a research project.

From Sunday, June 29, to Wednesday, July 2, NASA planes will fly as low as 1,000 feet above power plants, landfills and urban areas. That’s barely taller than some skyscrapers and much lower than a commercial jet, which has a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.

The planes will execute specialized maneuvers, such as vertical spirals, circle specific areas, and conduct low-altitude flybys along airport runways, NASA announced.

Flights are planned over the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea and Central Valley.

The flights are being conducted as part of NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program, an eight-week summer internship that provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience in every aspect of a scientific campaign.

In these instances, students will assists in the operation of the instruments on board the plants to collect atmospheric data that will offer information about air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, NASA said.

“Despite SARP being a learning experience for both the students and mentors alike, our P-3 is being flown and performing maneuvers in some of most complex and restricted airspace in the country,” Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops. “Tight coordination and crew resource management is needed to ensure that these flights are executed with precision but also safely.”

The planes are a P-3 Orion and a King Air B200.

More information about SARP is available on NASA's website.