A military plane seen and heard buzzing Durango’s night sky in April may be back.

Rachel Arries, who lives on the Florida Mesa north of Durango-La Plata County Airport, said a low-flying, four-engine turboprop plane made several circles above her house about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. A similar plane flew the same pattern in April, when Durango residents were roused from sleep after 11:30 p.m. for several nights by a low-flying turboprop, she said.

Airport Aviation Director Kip Turner said a C-130 did several “touch-and-goes” at the airport Wednesday but that is not uncommon. A touch-and-go is when a plane lands on the runway but does not stop; it just takes off again immediately.

The aircraft may have been in a holding pattern, which is possibly why it was circling near the airport, he said.

Turner did not know where the aircraft came from. Efforts to reach a spokesperson with Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Pilots are not required to notify the Durango airport of flight plans, and no one at the airport tracks planes that take off and land.

Herald Staff