Latest in a series of low-flying military aircraft across Grant County

On Thursday, March 14 at approximately 12 pm, four C-130s flew very low over homes in the Cliff-Gila Valley, 30 miles west of Silver City, New Mexico. One of the planes banked and released flares over agricultural fields and dropped six to eight groups of flares leaving a trail of smoke that caused an acrid smell detected by local residents. This is the latest incident in an increasing number of military aircraft flying at low altitude over the Gila region.

“It was very disturbing to see flares like that dropped so low over fields and homes," said Cliff resident Sharman Russell. She explained that she is not anti-military. "My father was a test pilot in the 1950s who died flying past Mach 3 in the X-2. I have a great respect for pilots and for the Air Force. But there is a place for military training, and the Gila National Forest and Gila Wilderness, and nearby rural areas and small towns, is not the place."

Recently, there have been several incidents of low flying military aircraft across Grant County. 

There have been numerous reports from Mining District communities of low-flying military aircraft and possible sonic booms. On Sunday March 17, 2019 at 11:30 am, two C-130's flew over downtown Bayard at about 300 feet above the ground. A third C-130 lagged about three minutes behind, flying the same path. “I heard a very loud noise and I couldn't believe C-130s were flying so low in a residential area, my residential area. I'm concerned about this flight path,” said Bayard resident Frances Gonzales.

Additionally, on March 2 at 5:40 pm, two C-130 aircraft were observed flying from the west to the northeast at extremely low altitude (one at approximately 300 feet) over the north edge of Silver City by Nick Sussillo, a former Air Force R&D Officer who flew with C-130 tactical crews (1969-1972). “Extremely low-altitude flights of this kind appear to be both unsafe and irresponsible over a residential area of nearly 20,000 people. The extremely low altitude coupled with flying over Silver City constitutes a worst case scenario that has been a concern to many of us,” Sussillo said.

After witnessing two large military planes flying north up the Mimbres Valley on March 14, 2019 at 11:00 a.m., Mimbres resident Jamie Newton said, "I am shocked that my own property in the Mimbres Valley feels like a sacrifice zone. I have been shaken by low-flying jets while feeding our chickens, and big four-engine propeller planes often make our old adobe house vibrate."

Burning flares have started wild fires. In 2018, a military flare dropped from a large military plane started a grassfire near Buckhorn, NM. In 2017, a string of seven fires, as large as 1800 acres, in southeast Oregon were attributed to military flare use during National Guard F-15 training exercises.  In 2007, a flare dropped by an F-16, started a fire that burned 22 square miles in New Jersey.  Six thousand people were evacuated.

Some flares do not ignite after ejection from military aircraft. Exposed to time, weather, and moisture the explosive and pyrotechnic components of the decaying flare can become unstable and ignite if disturbed. The Air Force considers these flares to be unexploded ordnance and dispatches trained personnel to dispose of the device when one is reported. In 2017, a woman living near Fort Thomas, Arizona, picked up an un-ignited flare that exploded in her hands. She sustained a 49% of total body surface area burn including her head, bilateral upper and lower extremities and torso, requiring multiple surgeries and nearly 2 months of hospitalization. 

The U.S. Air Force is proposing to expand special use airspace over the Gila Wilderness, the Gila National Forest, and surrounding communities for F-16 training for Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM. One part of this proposal is to expand two existing Military Operations Areas (MOAs) and create a large new MOA called Lobos MOA. Covering over 250,000 acres, these new F-16 training areas will put the Gila, Grant and Catron counties, and surrounding communities at great risk from extreme noise, wildfire and environmental contamination, severely threatening our local economy. 

The Air Force is expected to release its draft Environmental Impact Statement on the training area expansion in late spring/early summer 2019. 

“People fear that these incidents of low-flying aircraft are just the beginning of a significant intrusion of military activity in the Gila Region. If the Lobos MOA is established, military training over the Gila will be a daily occurrence and will have a tremendous negative impact on public safety and health, environment, quality of life, and our local economy,” said Allyson Siwik, Peaceful Gila Skies member. “There are clear options in other parts of New Mexico with existing training areas that can easily be adapted and expanded to accommodate the new F-16 training mission. We need to protect the Gila National Forest and our local communities from this harmful proposal.”

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