RICHMOND, Va. — What was that sound? A question some in Richmond asked Thursday afternoon when an unexpected visitor loudly flew over Richmond.
It was a U.S. Navy F/A – 18 Hornet that sped over metro Richmond around 12:30 p.m.
When the military jet flew over the CBS 6 studio on West Broad Street, the sound was picked up on the News at Noon and set off car alarms in the parking lot.
“From my office, it sounded like it [The F/A-18] was going to land on I-95,” Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority PR manager Dawn Eischen tweeted.
A spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach confirmed the aircraft came from the installation. She said that the aircraft was assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike fighter Squadron 160 (VFA 106), whose mission is to “Train F/A 18 Replacement Aircrew to support fleet commitments.”
The F/A – 18 is the primary strike fighter of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.
It is an all-weather aircraft that can conduct both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations and is forward deployed on aircraft carriers around the world.
Every six weeks, a new group of “newly winged” aircrews begin a nine-month training course to include learning both day and night-time flying, air-to-air and air-to-ground training culminating with qualifications to fly off aircraft carriers.
A representative from Naval Air Forces Atlantic has yet to respond to a request for comment if more flights in Metro Richmond are scheduled.
