The Federal Aviation Administration kicked off an investigation to find out why four A-10 Thunderbolt fighter jets flew at extremely low altitudes and buzzed Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
NBC affiliate WCNC.com reported that the jets also shook-up some workers in the upper floors of the Duke Energy tower reminiscent of Ghost Rider piloted by Maverick (Tom Cruz) when it whizzed by the airport control tower in the movie Top Gun.
Two fighter jets just buzzed by my window of the high rise bldg I work in – uptown Charlotte NC. Scary!
— Julie H Saunders (@JHSaunders) August 29, 2016
Coach Ron Rivera, who was leading a practice session at the stadium for the Carolina Panthers at the time of the fly-over, remarked that although it surprised everyone he thought it was “awesome.” He added, “I liked the fact that they waved at us as they went over.”
https://twitter.com/zakkx/status/770289465902465024
A statement by the FAA corrected initial reports that the buzzing was a practice flyover for a football game. According to NBC Sports, the early explanation was incorrect because no such flights were scheduled.
The Air Force restricted all four of the pilots involved in the incident from flight duties until it concludes the investigation.
“As professional Airmen we take aviation safety very seriously,” Col. Thomas Kunkel, 23d Wing commander stated. “As we look into the circumstances of this incident we are working with the FAA to ensure both civil and military aviation instructions were complied with.”
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