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NPR and KMUW are thoroughly committed to monitoring COVID-19 activity and its potential impact on your lives. We are continually updating kmuw.org with the latest news.

Military Flyover Planned For Wednesday Honors COVID Responders

Hugo Phan
/
KMUW/File photo

A special military air convoy is scheduled to fly over south-central Kansas on Wednesday morning.

Two KC-135 Stratotankers and a KC-46 Pegasus tanker from McConnell Air Force Base along with the restored B-29 bomber known as “Doc” are taking part in the flight.

The team wants to honor health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel for their response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The aircraft will fly over 11 hospitals in Wichita, Derby, Newton, Andover, Garden Plain, Haysville and El Dorado. The flight begins around 10 a.m. and lasts about an hour.

“Team McConnell takes great pride in being part of this community,” said Col. Richard Tanner, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander in a news release. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to show our appreciation and solidarity to the thousands of heroes who are working tirelessly to battle COVID-19.”

Air Force flyovers are conducted at no additional cost to the taxpayer and serve as training for pilots.

Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.