What looked like a huge 747 commercial jet circled round and round and back and forth in the southern Inyo area this morning. Residents called us about it. They said it was a puzzling sight.

plane-military

Photo by Russ Monroe

We spoke with Edwards Air Force Base about the reports. Public Information Officer Stephen Robinson said it could be any number of things. He said that Boeing Aircraft has a facility nearby. Officer Robinson said that Boeing is currently testing and fine-tuning two 747s for FAA certification. He said they have a cargo version and a passenger version.

Officer Robinson said the strange sight could also have been a military C17 from another location. Sierra Wave sent images of the plane to the officer who will try to identify them and let us know what was up with the unusual figure eights and circling of the large plane around Inyo County.

The China Lake Naval Weapons Center public information office will also look into this report.

Other reports weeks earlier had said air force personnel on the ground were conducting an exercise with planes in the air. LeMoore Air Force Base officers had reported on that type of activity when they appeared before the Inyo Supervisors about a year ago.

The Owens Valley is an official military air space in which a number of military planes perform maneuvers.

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