PORT TOWNSEND — Personnel aboard a Navy plane flying at low altitudes over Port Townsend on Monday night had been forced to make a quick adjustment and did not have time to warn the public, a department spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The low training flight of the Lockheed P-3 Orion sparked some 40 phone calls to 9-1-1 emergency services between
7 p.m. and 11 p.m., said Jefferson County Sheriff Tony Hernandez.
“We usually don’t fly at a low altitude over populated areas,” said Jennifer Meyer, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station community liaison.
“But sometimes, there are issues with the weather or traffic, and they have to make a last-minute adjustment and don’t have the time to tell anyone.”
Hernandez said that “it would have been nice” to get a call about the plane’s activity.
“A lot of people were concerned,” he said.
“They didn’t know if the plane was in distress or if it was part of a clandestine surveillance.”
Hernandez said one of his deputies called the Federal Aviation Administration and received a return call from the naval air station informing them of the training activity.
“The deputies had the same concerns as the public,” he said.
“We didn’t know if the plane was in trouble or if there was cause for panic.”
The plane is an anti-submarine craft that was first manufactured in 1959, according to the Navy’s website, http://tinyurl.com/cawyt5.
The newer models are equipped with a modern communication system.
Its long range and long loiter time were used during Operation Iraqi Freedom, when it instantaneously provided information about the battle space to ground troops, according to the website.
Meyer said the Navy has a 24-hour information line, 360-257-2681, that people can call to ask questions about airplane activity.
“We do everything we can so our missions don’t interfere with people,” Meyer said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
