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Friday, Sep. 17, 2021

Did hurricane hunters ‘abandon their mission’ during Ida because ‘windows on their plane began cracking’?

Marlo Lee, Lead Stories
no

An aircraft used by the Air Force Reserve's hurricane hunters had a single "spider" crack in its windshield on August 28, 2021, a day before Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana. According to Air Force Reserve Capt. Will Simmons, who was on that aircraft, the crew cut short the August 28, 2021, mission once they noticed the crack.

The window pane was replaced and the crew was able to go out again on August 29, 2021, when the aircraft passed through the eye of the hurricane twice with no issues.

Contrary to a social media post, the mission of monitoring and tracking Ida was not abandoned because "windows on their plane began cracking!!!"

A spokesperson for the hurricane hunters of the Air Force's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron said wind speeds within Hurricane Ida were not a factor in the windshield crack.

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