Our ex-father-in-law was one of those guys who was convinced that the black helicopters were buzzing him around his home near the Rose Bowl. We've also heard of the black triangles and the drones ... but a commercial jet? This is new! Chris Considine tells us about his experience:
Listen...I don't know if you had personally seen or were aware of a couple wild flyovers here in Altadena of a large white 4 engine commercial airliner?...it was Wednesday about 9:10am when I heard this incredibly loud aircraft over my house on Sonoma. I went out to see what I just described flying northwest about 1500 feet over our neighborhoods...
Then about 1/2 later coming out of RiteAid on Hill, I heard the same sound and there it was again circling away at 1500' above north Pasadena...
I called the Sheriff first and the deputy knew nothing about it. I then called the FAA office and got JJ who was most interested in hearing about this. He knew nothing and checked with radar etc a couple of times during our conversation. Since the plane was heading away, I couldn't see any distinct markings (as it had almost none), and we talked about the possibility of it being a forest service flight or training run, but it had no orange or red markings of any kind and there were NO fires anywhere at all.
I then called a neighbor on Boston and it turns out they had been scared (mother and young daughter) by a low flyover of a jet with the exact same description on Sunday afternoon. I called the FAA back and told them of this other sighting and they are very interested for someone to video tape it or photograph this airliner flying over Altadena. I watch the skies all the time and can identify most aircraft by sound before sight. Certainly we have are share of awesome military aircraft from both the Rose Bowl and Dodger Stadium flying low over us for excitement. But this was the very first time I've ever seen a large (most likely a 4 engine 707) airliner flying over us...Maybe others saw it, or markings that would help identify it...
FAA direct number (found it in the phone book) that gets immediate results is: 310 725 3300
Thought this might make in interesting piece on the blog for responses...maybe it was Travolta in his private 707 practicing landings...maybe not.
Haven't had this kind of excitement since the Hercules transport flew overhead last fall ...
