Pilot Navigates His Plane through Hurricane Ida in a Terrifying Video
As Hurricane Ida sweeps through the Gulf of Mexico, two pilots have been brave enough to navigate the harrowing weather conditions in the line of duty.
The footage of an airline pilot flying through the revered Hurricane Ida on a single-engine plane is making the rounds on social media. The NOAA Hurricane Hunters first shared the video on Facebook, attracting terrified reactions from netizens.
The clip showed the pilot controlling the aircraft expertly, with an assistant pilot sitting beside him, both wearing aviation headsets. He appeared calm and collected as he scaled through the eye of the Category 4 Hurricane.
Two pilots navigate plane through Hurricane Ida. | Photo: facebook.com/NOAAHurricaneHunters
At some point, the camera panned the length of the plane before focusing on the craft's exteriors, revealing another plane flying nearby.
Evidence of the stormy weather was also visible in the video. Notwithstanding the potentially dangerous nature of the journey, the US pilot remained dauntless, focusing on the early morning mission. The caption on the post read:
"OVER THE GULF OF MEXICOꟷ Flying into the eye of Category 4 Hurricane #Ida on NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 Miss Piggy during this morning's mission August 29, 2021."
The video credit was given to Lt. Cmdr. Doremus of NOAA Corps. In addition, the NOAA shared a link, urging people to visit the website to obtain resources as the storm had made a landfall.
Several Facebook users utilized the comment section to express how terrifying they found the mission, while others commended the pilots' bravery. One of the comments read:
"This is amazing. Thanks for this. Brave soul."
Another commenter dwelt on the model of the plane used for the mission, pointing out that seeing pilots navigate the hurricane on a less equipped plane made their efforts more commendable. The commenter wrote:
"Pretty cool. NOAA used to be VW$ out of JAX. Didn't know they were still using P#s. Always wondered why they used a short, stiff-winged airplane to penetrate a hurricane, not a great ride."
Several netizens dished out odes to the brave men and women who risked their lives to curb the fast-spreading Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters before it.
While many were in awe of the terrifying video, some gushed about how courageous the pilots must have been to embark on such a rough flight. One of the commenters categorized the experience as unreal.