C-17's and 747's

lqcorsa · Post by **lqcorsa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:09 am

Every 2 months or so a Boeing C-17 will do 7-8 passes 150 feet above my house shaking everything below it. You can tell he's just doing circles because he approaches my house, then does a 180 and approaches from the same way again. I live about 25 miles from the closest AFB witch is McChord, so they have no excuse to be flying so low (not exactly noise procedure). Only thing I can figure here is training, but why so low?

Secondly while talking about low passes it brang up a very frightening experience I had with a Boeing 747 (probobly 744). At about 10:00 at night, January I think, several years ago at the house we to lived in at that time I was on the computer and I noticed things started to shake and then I heard pratt and whitney engine fans so I ran outside, completely dark clear night a 747 passes directly over my house no more than 120 feet, I mean you could see the pilots faces lit up from the dome lights in the cockpit, and all the detail inside the gear bays, leaving a shimmering windy heat behind it as it continued to descend behind some trees. I didn't get a good look at the plane since it's logo lights were not on, but it didn't look like any livery I've seen before, in fact it didn't even look painted, and no markings were visible. Then my mom called me telling me a large plane passed over the house she was at about 5 mins ago (she was a good 15 miles away at the time. About 15 minutes later another one came, maybe the same one but it was about 200 feet higher. The closest international airport to me is Seattle-Tacoma Intl and is at least 50 miles north of where I live. Does ATC error or something play a factor in this? He definitely shouldn't have been in the traffic pattern at 50 miles and his gear shouldn't have been down until he was on final am I correct? Anybody who could give me some thoughts to chew over would be very kind.

Cobra · Post by **Cobra** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:20 am

120 feet in a 747 is very very very low. If it continued to descend it would have crashed.
Nothing about what you have related sounds right. You sure about it?

lqcorsa · Post by **lqcorsa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:25 am

I can confirm it was definetly below half DH. So no higher than 250. This thing was extremely low. Lower than I've ever seen any plane besides landing at an airport. There was also a old war plane that flew sideways between two trees a long time ago but that was different, he wasn't 800 thousand pounds.

Post by **Lawndart** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:30 am

The only ones allowed to come up initial that low are the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels. In general aviation the lowest you're allowed to fly over non-rural areas is 500 ft AGL from any building, structure or settlement and if being vectored by ATC, they have a minimum vectoring altitude, typically within the floor of class E airspace, usually well above 1,200 ft AGL. Within towered airspace it is different, since they "own" the airspace from the ground up, but that usually only exists within a 2.5 and 5nm radius for most larger airports (not your backyard from what it sounds like!). Military operations can be conducted at low altitudes, but there are MOA's and restricted areas designated for that along with specially designed low altitude routes, certainly not designed to fly over someone's house that low! I find it very hard to believe you saw a C-17, a plane that has a wingspan of 170 feet, flying only 150 feet above your head, none the less a 747 at 120 feet above your head, unless you could run over to the emergency landing site about 10 seconds later...

Low maybe, just not that low...

Now, as to why planes fly low over your house, I don't know. If you have a sectional chart or low enroute chart handy for the area I may be able to venture a guess, but unless you have an airplane sitting in your backyard right now I can guarantee you those "tin-can's" were flying much higher than you thought!

If this was a buzz job by some hot shot in a crop duster, I could see, but you just don't find those kind of people in heavy iron. For one, it takes money to operate and its owners certainly wouldn't want their planes flying that low. Secondly, when you're less than three seconds away from dying, survival kicks in!

LD

lqcorsa · Post by **lqcorsa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:35 am

No idea. I wanted to get video of the C-17 but after I got my camera it never came back. Just one of those things you have to see to believe eh? Yes maybe the C-17's flys at about 500 feet. But that 747, I wouldn't be surprised if it's wing struck the ground at a 45 degree bank. Yes I'm talking about AGL here to

elevation where I live is liike 300 feet. I've been to the space needle countless times, for those who don't know what it is.

I can assure you standing right under it makes it seem taller. When riding the elevator up there the lady says the total height at about 600 feet. I can assure you this plane was at least half as low at the space needle.

Post by **Lawndart** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:41 am

I would definitely have to see the evidence to believe your story!

(At least the altitude part)...

LD

lqcorsa · Post by **lqcorsa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:48 am

Ahhh I knew it hehe. Oh well its no biggie the guys on TS had a hard time believing it as well. I'll keep my camera on me at all times from now on

. I don't blame you for not believing me though

. I've tryed googleing "low commercial airplane passes" to see if I can find any similar stories but I don' t think low cost airfares are what I'm looking for. Besides when are you ever gonna get proof for something like that? It's dissapointing really...

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:15 pm

A couple of questions for you-
1. You said that there wasnt an international airport near you, but is there an airport with maybe a 5000 foot runway near you or you are on the approach path to?

2. Which leads me to my next question/comment, if the answer is yes, a C-17 may be practicing "tactical insertions" on that runway, especially if it is just used for civil aviation and is not very busy.

3. If the answer is no, after my many years around a/c and airports/bases, I would find it hard to believe that there would be a plane that low and slow like that. Maybe he was a couple thousand feet, and it was dark, and you had trouble judging the distance.

lqcorsa · Post by **lqcorsa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:22 pm

Superbugz,

The nearest airport to me is Olympia Airport. Runway 17/35 is 5501 feet long, but he wouldn't have been landing there. Olympia is a pretty popular airport, most traffic containing Cessna 150, 172, 206, 182's ect... and every once in a while a learjet here and there.

Here is an example video. Watch about 30 seconds into the first part of the clip as the Singapore fly's over the airport. That was almost exactly the altitude of this plane as it passed over us.

http://www.flightlevel350.com/Aircraft_ ... -6538.html

Airshow fan · Post by **Airshow fan** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:41 am

At our airport we have harfly any traffic. That is really low

Oh and when the 747 come down, do they have the gear, flaps. ect?

AF

Post by **Lawndart** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:51 am

Airshow fan wrote:Oh and when the 747 come down, do they have the gear, flaps. ect?

Ahhh! No more fuel to the fire...

There is absolutely no way a 747 would ever fly that low unless you're standing within the airport boundaries or adjecent to the approach lighting system! The only other time, would be if you were the first to arrive at the crash-site...

LD

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:00 am

Lawndart wrote:
Airshow fan wrote:Oh and when the 747 come down, do they have the gear, flaps. ect?
Ahhh! No more fuel to the fire...

LD

Should I go get the fire engine?

Post by **Lawndart** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:40 am

Only if it has enough "umph" to spray 120 feet...

LD

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:45 am

Lawndart wrote:Only if it has enough "umph" to spray 120 feet...

LD

Hmm...Will this do?

http://www.oshkoshtruck.com/airportmuni ... y~home.cfm

Airshow fan · Post by **Airshow fan** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:45 pm

Just to say.....strange