VERO BEACH — Vero residents driving around at lunchtime Thursday may have been bewildered looking up and seeing a large, gunmetal gray military transport plane circling very low and slow over the old downtown area.
Not exactly the crop dusters, small private planes or commercial jet traffic those who live around the Vero Beach Regional Airport are accustomed to seeing.
Air Force plane flies low over Vero’s Twin Pairs.
PHOTO BY DAN ALEXANDER
Was it having mechanical issues? Or scouting out the area way in advance of next year’s air show? Neither, according to Airport Director Eric Menger.
“It was an Air Force C-17 from McGuire Air Force Base. They just did a low approach on runway 30L for practice,” Menger said.
The plane did not stick around long. “They’re on their way back home,” he said. Home being Trenton, N.J.
According to the manufacturer, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport plane that can carry cargo, vehicles or more than 200 soldiers around the world.
“The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft tackles distance, destination and heavy, oversized payloads in unpredictable conditions. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the 1990s,” Boeing says.
