Langley Aircraft Evacuated to Avoid Hurricane Joaquin

Roughly 40 F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons from the 1st Fighter Wing at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., evacuated to Grissom ARB, Ind., on Oct. 1, states a release. The aircraft, and about 100 personnel from the 1st FW and 192nd FW, as well as at least four watercraft were relocated to minimize damage as Hurricane Joaquin approached the East Coast, bringing likely tidal surges and flooding. Virginia remained in a declared state of emergency as of Friday afternoon. As aircraft were evacuated from Langley, Hurricane Hunters with the Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron out of Keesler AFB, Miss., flew their WC-130J Hercules into Joaquin, passing through the eye multiple times. The squadron collects valuable data? which is relayed directly to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. “The information collected makes possible advance warning of hurricanes and increases the accuracy of hurricane predictions and warnings by as much as 20 percent,” according to an AFRC release.