Four aircraft from the Arizona Air National Guard will conduct a flyover mission Thursday, May 7, above Northern Arizona including Sedona and the Verde Valley.
The flyover above Northern Arizona communities is reportedly to show appreciation to doctors, nurses and medical staff serving on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19, according to the Arizona Air National Guard. The aircraft should be above Sedona and the Verde Valley roughly around 1:45 p.m., approaching from the northeast.
The flyover launched from Tucson at around 11 a.m. and will conduct an air-fueling training while heading north toward Gallup, N.M. The flyover beings in earnest above Gallup then heads over the Navajo Nation visiting Window Rock, Fort Defiance and Chinle to Kayenta, where is circles southwest toward Tuba City and Flagstaff before passing above Sedona and the Verde Valley before ending in Prescott.
“We support the community during COVID-19 by showing goodwill, and our hope is to work together to respond and grow from this event,” U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Howard Purcell, Arizona National Guard Air Component Commander, stated in a press release. “We want to show our support and we stand behind our community. We will move forward together.”
The flight is a training mission that will include a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker from the 161st Air Refueling Wing at Goldwater Air National Guard Base in Phoenix, and three General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 162nd Wing at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson.
