September 7,
2008: Every year, during the late
Summer, early Fall hurricane season in the western Atlantic, the U.S. Air Force
makes plans for where they will move aircraft that find their bases in the path
of a storm. A favorite refuge is Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which is
large, and in the middle of the country (western Ohio). As Hurricane Hanna
(which had calmed down to tropical storm status) moved up the east coast of
North America, military and commercial aircraft began to flee. In the days
before the storm was scheduled to come ashore, 14 F-15 fighters flew into Wright-Patterson
from Florida, and another 80 from North Carolina. In addition to the combat
aircraft, tankers, transports and anything else that can get blown around, and
is able to fly, is sent off to a safer place.
The navy and
army will also fly off their aircraft and helicopters to safer locations, as do
commercial aviation companies. It's expensive to do all this moving around, but
a lot cheaper than risking aircraft being blown over and sustaining millions of
dollars in damage. There are frequent examples of this, as there are always
some aircraft that are being repaired, and not flyable. These are tied down or
otherwise secured, but still tend to suffer damage if they a directly in the
way of the storm.
