Storm over Falcon Field (KFFZ, Phoenix) Flips Planes

Nathan Hyland

Nathan Hyland

Pre-Flight
Joined
Jun 9, 2020
Messages
75
Location
Queen Creek, AZ
Display Name
Nathan
Home Airfield
KIWA
Just 15 miles East of all that and didn’t see squat. AZ weather can be very odd. Hangar roofs and tied down planes got nailed. Saw a few Pipers and Cessnas upside down on the news. Here is a good shot.
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John Spartan said:
Just 15 miles East of all that and didn’t see squat. AZ weather can be very odd. Hangar roofs and tied down planes got nailed. Saw a few Pipers and Cessnas upside down on the news. Here is a good shot.
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A couple weeks back a thunderstorm here in MD caused a downburst that local news stated caused gusts in excess of 70mph. We certainly saw it - tons of branches, a couple of old trees, and power lines down near me, and my neighbor's wood fence collapsed into my yard. The neighborhood was a complete mess.
Drove the next day, and two blocks away, the neighborhood there looked pristine. It was like a precision strike on my block.
 
Buddy of mine sent these. A couple of Oxford Aviation planes were flipped.


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Hopefully none of the Commemorative Museum's warbirds or exhibits were damaged.
 
Pilawt said:
An independent meteorologist says what hit FFZ fits the definition of tornado. Radar had the classic "hook" pattern suggestive of tornado.
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There was a separate news report, showing a rotational cloud not that long before this all went down too.
 
I am based there. City hangers have roller doors and probably 30% came off their tracks and either fell outward or are leaning against the airplane inside. The WW2 hangers were refurbished about 5 years ago and lost most of their roofs. Some steel buildings that were being leased lost most of their sheeting(one lost pretty much all the outside walls and is just a frame(see photo previously posted), pretty much all are missing roof pieces and walls). I didn't inspect the tie down areas but definitely a big mess there as well from the news photos. It is being called a microburst but apparently there are radar plots with a tornado "signature" shape.

I lucked out in that my plane is in what appears to be one of the only city hanger rows that didn't lose a door.
 
Mother nature at her worst.sorry for the loss and damage to all the airplanes involved
 
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