Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was just outside for a walk around the block and observed a very large aircraft getting ready to land at our small local airport. I live in the biggest city between Denver and Salt Lake City (they are 500 miles apart). Since it's a small airport we don't usually get such large aircraft flying through. That caught my attention first. I don't know the names of the different classes of aircraft, but the local airport mostly has small jets that go to Denver, etc, and in the summer, aircraft for wildland fire fighting. Air Force 1 has been here.
The second thing that struck me was that it was pure white with no markings at all. And no windows. It had two engines on the wing and a small bump on the top of the plane.
I did a web search and found out that white aircraft like this are not uncommon, but it seemed strange to see it here in a small "remote" airport.
Clearly, a B 747-200; I like the SUD on the -400 a little more, but I'm not complaining! I was once driving across the state of Washington and was wondering why this 747 kept circling in view of I-90. I then came to learn that Moses Lake, WA has a training airport for pilots and what appear to be Boeing aircraft.
The picture in the second reply is obviously a 742, but in the OP, he states that the aircraft only has two engines.
Going by the clue that you're the largest city between Salt Lake and Denver, I'll just take a guess and say you're in Grand Junction?
If that's true, then you can view recent arrivals and departures here. The only arrival I see just prior to the time of your post is Lear 60, a small business jet. Most likely you saw a government aircraft and isn't shown on tracking websites.
All white, non descript aircraft are frequently used by the federal government (US Marshalls and CIA mostly) for prisoner transport.
If you go past the airport later, see if the plane is parked out in the open. If it is, see if you can read the tail number. You can Google that and should be able to find out the owner or operator.
I once saw what I believe was a 747 cargo plane that was also completely white (with no markings) at JFK airport many years ago. At the time I was told that it was an Israeli airplane.
The picture in the second reply is obviously a 742, but in the OP, he states that the aircraft only has two engines.
Going by the clue that you're the largest city between Salt Lake and Denver, I'll just take a guess and say you're in Grand Junction?
If that's true, then you can view recent arrivals and departures here. The only arrival I see just prior to the time of your post is Lear 60, a small business jet. Most likely you saw a government aircraft and isn't shown on tracking websites.
All white, non descript aircraft are frequently used by the federal government (US Marshalls and CIA mostly) for prisoner transport.
If you go past the airport later, see if the plane is parked out in the open. If it is, see if you can read the tail number. You can Google that and should be able to find out the owner or operator.
Thanks for all the replies folks. Yes I am in GJ. I don't live or work within actual view of the airport but I can see planes on approach (or departure) from my workplace sometimes. There are often small military aircraft flying through (very loud) and I've seen other large gov't/military cargo planes fly through the valley. (C-14?)
That is a very interesting website of all (most of) the flights through the airport. I saw that white plane at about 2:30pm. Just before I saw it I heard a very loud (sounded large) plane that I thought was taking off and I was looking around in the sky for it. I didn't see it, it was probably too far to the west by then. Then I noticed the large white aircraft on approach from the east. (It could have come from anywhere, they just happened to be landing in that direction then.)
Well the unmarked white 747 airplane that I saw at JFK was definitely an Israeli unmarked military aircraft as I was on a guided tour of the JFK air traffic control tower at the time and that is where I got that information.
He said it only had 2 engines, so it wouldn't have been a 747.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
