Military training could mean low aircraft over Pittsburgh region

The Department of Defense is conducting training this week in and around Pittsburgh, which could mean low-flying aircraft overhead, officials said.

The planned training and exercises are in conjunction with state and local law enforcement, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said, and will run through Saturday.

Authorities said residents might “see or hear low-flying aircraft over parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” something they said is “routine for this type of training.”

Officials said the exercises should have minimal impact on the public, and there will be no public viewings so as to maintain safety.

Such training and exercises are not new to the area.

In 2018, some residents reported helicopters circling the city. The choppers were part of planned training with the Department of Defense, and similar training happened in 2019.

That year’s training brought with it explosions as well as low-flying military helicopters and aircraft. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said at the time that such military training saves the department thousands of dollars.

“They’re staying in hotels; they’re renting cars; they’re eating in restaurants, and any experience that we pick up is beneficial to our officers in keeping them safe,” Hissrich said in 2019.

In 2016, area residents reported seeing a Marine Corps Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft, fly over buildings in downtown Pittsburgh and land and take off from the Allegheny County Airport.

In October 2012, cargo planes with the Air Force Reserve’s 911th Airlift Wing in Moon flew over Pittsburgh and nearby communities in a training exercise that doubled as a photo shoot. A spokesman for the unit said at the time the mission included dropping items from a plane onto a target in Washington County.