Right now there’s a military plane (C-138 or HC-130H) and two Blackhawk helicopters circling Manhattan and a lot of people are confused about it. Apparently, so is the NYPD. Thankfully the Air National Guard has an answer for the strange sight: apparently it’s a training exercise.
Blackhawk Helicopters and C-130 plane circling over Manhattan part of training exercise, says the Air National Guard.
— Tony Gatto (@gattotony) December 13, 2016
The thing is, New York gets kind of nervous when seeing planes fly overhead, especially military ones. I can count on one hand the number of times I see a plane flying overhead a week, and I’ve never heard of this happening. Obviously it’s nothing to get upset or worried about, but still, it’s kind of lame that this could become a regular occurrence.
If it is a C-130 Hercules, it doesn’t seem to be armed, but these flying beasts can carry some serious cargo–including electronic listening equipment.
C-130 Hercules. It doesn't look armed. Weird its flying so close to the city though.
— Bird App Brawler (@Saabturbo9000) December 13, 2016
Photos and videos of the mysterious aircraft have been posted to Twitter for the past hour. Here are some of the better images and videos.
A video of the plane that's been circling Manhattan pic.twitter.com/Bsj5ANEeW1
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) December 13, 2016
Why is a plane this large circling midtown Manhattan? This from 14th St, Union Square. pic.twitter.com/6fwmsc1KfN
— Andrew Fine (@AFineBlogger) December 13, 2016
#Military #plane C-130? Circling around #Manhattan. Anyone have answers? pic.twitter.com/U6Q7r9bvmZ
— Sasha Moses (@sashamoses76) December 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/_prz__/status/808793817918869504
