Auburn football moved to 3-0 in Hugh Freeze’s first year as head coach with a win over Samford on Saturday, and it set the tone early with a flyover that had fans shaking in their boots. It was spectacular.
About 10 minutes prior to kickoff, a KC-135 aircraft flew over Jordan-Hare Stadium in an incredible display of patriotism. The Stratotanker has a wingspan of 131 feet, length of 136 feet and a weight of nearly 100,000 pounds.
They are used to refuel fighter jets while still in the air.
All of this goes to say that KC-135 are massive planes.
Their presence is felt. Especially during a flyover.
Where most flyovers usually take place well above the stadium, with fighter jets or helicopters, Auburn did things a little bit differently and got a KC-135 to buzz by after the national anthem. Its flight crew decided to take things up a notch.
The massive tanker aircraft came in low. Here is what it looked like from the plane:
My son was on that plane! pic.twitter.com/MathrK6YQ9
— Mark Kinney (@kinneyfamily00) September 17, 2023
Auburn’s flyover was shockingly low.
For a moment, it appeared as though the KC-135 was not going to clear the scoreboard!
The flyover was that low.
Here are a few other angles from other vantage points throughout the stadium:
Although it was an incredible display of patriotism and fortitude, Auburn’s flyover was a little bit jarring for those in the stands. Especially because they did not know what was coming.
It was such a unique experience that people who were not at the college football game had to make sure it was on purpose via the Tigers’ reddit page. You know, just in case the giant military plane was not supposed to be flying that low, which might have been a more serious issue.
Flyovers are awesome. Super low flyovers, like the one at Jordan-Hare, are even cooler.
That doesn’t make it any less startling, for a moment, as one of the largest planes in the U.S. military comes barreling down on top of you!