Flyover event on Memorial Day will include hospitals in Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County hospitals were skipped in last week’s flyover salute to healthcare workers but on Memorial Day will be included in one of two flyovers by the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing.
All three hospitals in Modesto as well as medical centers in Oakdale, Turlock and Patterson will be part of the flyover event.
A single HC-130J Combat King II aircraft will depart Moffett Air National Guard Base in Mountain View at 11:30 a.m. for flyovers in the Central Valley and Salinas Valley.
An aerial formation with one HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and two HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters will depart from the base an hour later for flyovers in the North and South Bay Area.
The single Combat King II aircraft is scheduled to arrive first at Oak Valley hospital at 1:17 p.m., then head to Modesto where it will fly over Doctors Medical Center at 1:20 p.m., Memorial Medical Center at 1:21 p.m. and Kaiser Modesto Medical Center at 1:22 p.m. The aircraft will then head west to Patterson where it will fly over Sutter Gould Medical foundation at 1:28 p.m., before cutting back east to Emanuel Medical Center for a 1:34 p.m. flyover, then head south to Merced County.
“The flyovers demonstrate the United States Air Force’s continued readiness and expresses gratitude to health care providers, first responders, and other essential personnel on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19,” according to a press release.
Last Wednesday, four F-15C Eagle Fighter Jets, with the 144th Fighter Wing out of Fresno, conducted low altitude flyovers at locations in the San Joaquin Valley and Bay Area. While Stanislaus County was in their flight path on their way to Sacramento, they were at a standard flying altitude of 25,000 feet as opposed to 1,000 feet when they were conducting the flyovers at medical facilities, police and fire departments and the Capital.
The California Air National Guard said residents in the cities where the flyovers will occur Monday can view the aircraft from the safety of their homes and asks that people maintain social distancing during the event.
