The Air Force’s “hurricane hunters” fly directly into the attention of dangerous storms to supply accurate information to meteorologists and residents.
Major Kendall Dunn, of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, described on “Fox & Friends” Thursday what it was like flying into Hurricane Ian off the coast of Florida, calling it the roughest flight of his profession.
“Yesterday’s flight was just a little crazy. We were flying through the storm; next thing you realize, we were hitting updrafts and downdrafts faster than you possibly can imagine. And it was uncontrolled, big-time,” he recalled.
Major Dunn said that the knowledge gathered from the flights is “invaluable” and on this case, it validated the severity of Hurricane Ian and led meteorologists to provide more serious warnings.
“Once we reported severe turbulence on the low pressure, principally they were scrambling on the National Hurricane Center to get out an update, a message that was like, hey, this thing’s big time. Please heed the warnings. This is just not a joke.”
Dunn described the flight as essentially the most intense of his profession.
“I’ve been on some scary flights in my life, but not that bad. I went to the highest of my seatbelt, shot back down.” he said, comparing it to an “elevator drop” ride at Disney.
“We had that multiple times, and it will not end. It continued for about five minutes.”
Dunn said the pilots were all from the Air Force Reserve. He said prior to his current role he was within the Army and flew Black Hawks.
The Air Force’s “hurricane hunters” fly directly into the attention of dangerous storms to supply accurate information to meteorologists and residents.
Major Kendall Dunn, of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, described on “Fox & Friends” Thursday what it was like flying into Hurricane Ian off the coast of Florida, calling it the roughest flight of his profession.
“Yesterday’s flight was just a little crazy. We were flying through the storm; next thing you realize, we were hitting updrafts and downdrafts faster than you possibly can imagine. And it was uncontrolled, big-time,” he recalled.
Major Dunn said that the knowledge gathered from the flights is “invaluable” and on this case, it validated the severity of Hurricane Ian and led meteorologists to provide more serious warnings.
“Once we reported severe turbulence on the low pressure, principally they were scrambling on the National Hurricane Center to get out an update, a message that was like, hey, this thing’s big time. Please heed the warnings. This is just not a joke.”
Dunn described the flight as essentially the most intense of his profession.
“I’ve been on some scary flights in my life, but not that bad. I went to the highest of my seatbelt, shot back down.” he said, comparing it to an “elevator drop” ride at Disney.
“We had that multiple times, and it will not end. It continued for about five minutes.”
Dunn said the pilots were all from the Air Force Reserve. He said prior to his current role he was within the Army and flew Black Hawks.
