Did you see or hear military choppers flying above Broward? Here’s what we know
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s ... the United States military?
If you live in Broward, especially the southwest part of the county, an apocalyptically loud whirring noise likely interrupted your Wednesday night dinner plans.
Several military aircraft were spotted flying low over South Florida before landing at Pembroke Pines’ North Perry Airport on Jan. 14, according to multiple social media posts.
In the words of the Coral Springs Police Department: “It wasn’t Superman and no ... it wasn’t UFOs either.”
Residents reported seeing the crafts fly in formation over Palm Beach and Davie and on community Facebook group We Love Pembroke Pines, while Instagram account Only in Dade described seeing them cruise around the Hollywood and Miami sky.
Video clips posted to the page show the aircraft traveling above busy roadways and residential communities before heading into the airport’s airspace.
“Call of Duty plane, I ain’t ever seen something like this,” a spectator is heard shouting above the aircraft’s roar in one video. “What the hell is going on?”
Why is the military dropping in on suburban South Florida, you ask?
The aircrafts’ Wednesday night flights were tied to “an incoming VIP” — President Donald Trump — according to North Perry spokesperson Arlene Satchell.
Though airport officials didn’t confirm why Pembroke Pines would be on Trump’s flight path, the president is expected to be in town for the college football national championship game — the Miami Hurricanes face the Indiana Hoosiers — on Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Herald reported on Jan. 14.
Secretary of State and Miami native Marco Rubio is likely to join him, the publication added.
Several social media commenters described the aircraft seen Wednesday as a MV-22B Osprey, often used by the U.S. Marine Corps.
“The MV-22 Osprey is a Marine Corps aircraft that combines a helicopter and an airplane,” Alberto Maldonado wrote under Only In Dade’s post of the flight.
“It can take off and land vertically like a helicopter, then tilt its rotors forward and fly fast and far like a plane. That lets Marines move troops, equipment, and supplies quickly into places helicopters can’t reach as fast. Been in those a few times.”
