Low-Flying NASA Jet Spooks LA-Area Residents

Low-Flying NASA Jet Spooks LA-Area Residents

A NASA Douglas DC-8 flying laboratory conducting low-altitude research flights over California this week startled residents when it swooped low over Torrance Municipal Airport.

The Monday afternoon flight over Zamperini Field was just 348 feet above sea level, said John Bailey, a Torrance resident who tracked the flight on the Internet and is a member of the Los Angeles International Airport Community Noise Roundtable. The airport itself is at an elevation of 103 feet.

NASA has said its research flights would fly at altitudes “as low as 1,000 feet.” Monday’s unusually low pass by a more than 150-foot-long aircraft — with a wingspan almost as wide — and four noisy engines spooked some Torrance residents as it roared overhead about 2 p.m. Monday.

For the complete story by Nick Green of DailyBreeze.com, click here.

Updated: June 19, 2013 — 11:29 AM
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