The WC-130 was entering the eye of Melissa Tuesday when it “briefly experienced forces stronger than normal due to turbulence,” the 53rd said in a social media post.
The crew of the plane, whose call sign was TEAL 75, returned to its forward operating location in Curacao, where it will be inspected before resuming flights.
The 53rd said the plane may not have been damaged by the heavy turbulence, but standard safety procedures call for an inspection.
Melissa is a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of up to 185 miles per hour, that is bearing down on Jamaica. The National Hurricane Center warned Tuesday it is about to make landfall, bringing catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surges that could decimate the Caribbean nation.
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The Air Force’s Hurricane Hunters are a reserve unit assigned to the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base.
The curtailed flight came one day after another Hurricane Hunter mission into Melissa, during which dramatic photos and video of its inner eye were captured.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.