Heart-stopping moment brave pilots flew into a 140mph hurricane on purpose
Terrifying video has emerged from a daring mission carried out by the "Hurricane Hunters" division of the US weather service NOAA.
Moment brave pilots flew into 140mph hurricane on purpose
People with a fear of flying might want to look away now as a new video has come to light showing how the brave crew of an aircraft flew straight into a 140mph hurricane - on purpose.
Filmed inside the cockpit of a plane from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the frightening footage shows how the cockpit rocked wildly as it entered the storm.
The whole plane was gripped by alarming turbulence during the scientific operation which flew into Hurricane Helene in order to take readings of the strength and violence of the tempest before it hit the US on September 26.
During an intense minute of filming, it takes three airmen to operate the controls of the Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft as the nightmare storm angrily buffets them up and down and side-to-side.
A flight map of the mission shows how the plane entered the hurricane off the coast of Florida over the Gulf of Mexico.
Massive rains from Hurricane Helene have left people stranded without shelter and awaiting rescue as the cleanup begins from a storm that killed at least 64 people.
The hurricane caused widespread destruction across the US southeast and knocked out power to millions of people.
Janalea England of Steinhatchee, Florida, a small river town in the state, said “I’ve never seen so many people homeless as what I have right now."
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday evening with winds hitting a monstrous 140 mph.
From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looks like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.
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Weakened, Helene then soaked North and South Carolina and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
President Joe Biden said that Helene’s devastation has been “overwhelming” and pledged to send help. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.
With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene is the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people when it came ashore just north of Charleston in 1989.
Deaths also have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
Moody’s Analytics said it expects £11 billion to £19 billion in property damage. AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Helene in the US could be around £80 billion.
