Why you might see low-flying planes over these Virginia cities next week

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Why you might see low-flying planes over these Virginia cities next week

NASA research planes to fly over mid-Atlantic cities, including locations in Central Virginia

By: WTVR CBS 6 Web Staff
Posted 3:20 PM, Jun 20, 2025 and last updated 6:54 PM, Jun 20, 2025

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — NASA will fly research missions from its Wallops Island facility over mid-Atlantic cities, including locations in Virginia, starting this Sunday, June 22 and continuing through Thursday, June 26. … The flights will take place over Richmond, Hopewell and Hampton as well as Baltimore and Philadelphia, according to NASA officials.

The two aircraft conducting the missions, a NASA Orion P-3 and a King Air B200, will fly lower than commercial aircraft, between 1,000 and 10,000 feet, officials said. … People may spot the planes conducting special flight patterns like vertical spirals and circling over landfills, power plants and urban areas.

"The flights will also include occasional missed approaches at local airports and low-altitude flybys along runways to collect air samples near the surface," officials said. … The flights are part of a NASA summer program that gives students hands-on experience in atmospheric research.

“The SARP flights have become mainstays of NASA's Student Airborne Research Program, as they expose highly competitive STEM students to real-world data gathering within a dynamic flight environment,” Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops, said. … Bernth noted that the flights are a learning experience for students and their mentors.

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