Three flyovers in Southern California honor workers on front lines of COVID-19 pandemic
The aerial salutes including flyovers from the California National Guard were primarily over medical facilities throughout Riverside, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, but were also be visible in neighboring areas.
Southern California got the chance to see three different flyovers Thursday as part of a nationwide effort from different sectors of the U.S. military honoring front line workers battling COVID-19.
The aerial salutes were primarily over medical facilities throughout Riverside, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, but were also visible in neighboring areas.
The events kicked off in the Antelope Valley at 11 a.m. with a flyover from the 412th Test Wing, which took off from Edwards Air Force Base and followed a planned flight path:
1. Lancaster City Hall
2. L.A. County Sheriff's Department Lancaster station
3. Kaiser Permanente Antelope Valley Medical Offices
4. Antelope Valley Hospital
5. Palmdale City Hall
6. L.A. County Sheriff's Department Palmdale station
7. Palmdale Regional Medical Center
It was followed in the Inland Empire by a treat from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley. Residents near hospitals were able to see a C-17 Globemaster III and a KC-135 Stratotanker from home.
"We're out there every day," Air Force Capt. Josh Hornberger said in a message to the front-line workers. "We love you, we support you and we're all in this together."
Three minutes behind the Globemaster, a KC-135 Stratotanker took to the skies.
"It's a lot louder inside and a lot hotter inside. It's an older airplane," said pilot Major Adam Walker. "Logistically, we do training missions all the time. Our airplane is not really one you'll see this low to the ground very often, so it's kind of exciting for us.
"We've been choreographing this for a couple of days now in a simulator. So we're just excited to be a part of it."
Residents were encouraged to maintain physical distancing guidelines during the flyovers. Officials asked residents to refrain from traveling to hospitals and gathering in large groups to watch the flyovers.
The C-17 made the first flyover of each location in the following order, followed by the KC-135 starting at about 1 p.m. before returning to March Field.
1. Menifee Global Medical Center-1303 (1:03 p.m.)
2. Kaiser Permanente Murrieta-1305 (1:05 p.m.)
3. Loma Linda Medical Center Murrieta-1305 (1:05 p.m.)
4. Temecula Valley Hospital -1309 (1:09 p.m.)
5. Rancho Springs Medical Center-1311 (1:11 p.m.)
6. Inland Valley Regional Medical Center-1312 (1:12 p.m.)
7. Lake Elsinore Family Care Center -1313 (1:13 p.m.)
8. Corona Regional Medical Center-1320 (1:20 p.m.)
9. Kaiser Permanente Riverside-1322 (1:22 p.m.)
10. Parkview Community Hospital -1323 (1:23 p.m.)
11. Riverside Community Hospital-1324 (1:24 p.m.)
12. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center-1326 (1:26 p.m.)
13. Loma Linda Children's Hospital-1327 (1:27 p.m.)
14. Loma Linda VA Hospital -1328 (1:28 p.m.)
15. San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital-1333 (1:33 p.m.)
16. JFK Memorial Hospital-1348 (1:48 p.m.)
17. Desert Regional Medical Center-1355 (1:55 p.m.)
18. Riverside University Health System-1406 (2:06 p.m.)
19. Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley-1408 (2:08 p.m.)
California Air National Guard fighter jets to fly over California to honor frontline workers
Health care workers and first responders in Ventura County and part of Los Angeles County were honored by the 146th Airlift Wing of the California Air National Guard. A formation of two C-130J Super Hercules began the flyover around 2 p.m. over the Palmdale Regional Medical Facility and continued on to several other locations throughout the county.
The following were the facilities within the flight path and the approximate flyover times within a 10-minute window:
1. Palmdale Regional Medical Center (2:05 p.m.)
2. Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (2:15 p.m.)
3. Adventist Health Simi Valley (2:20 p.m.)
4. Los Robles Regional Medical Center (2:25 p.m.)
5. St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital (2:30 p.m.)
6. St. John's Regional Medical Center (2:35 p.m.)
7. Community Memorial Hospital (2:40 p.m.)
8. Ventura County Medical Center (2:45 p.m.)
9. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (2:50 p.m.)
10. Ojai Valley Community Hospital (3 p.m.)
On Friday, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will fly over Los Angeles and San Diego as part of their tour to honor frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
