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Air Training Exercise Over Rhinelander Tuesday

en.wikipedia.org

Aircraft from the 115th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard along with the Civil Air Patrol took part in a training mission over the skies of Rhinelander Tuesday noon hour. Airport Director Joe Brauer says the units have trained over Rhinelander for a few years after an incident with a plane stolen from Thunder Bay, Ontario.....

"....there was an incident where a student stole and aircraft from one of the Fixed Based Operator trainers and was testing the system on how far he could get (into) the United States..."

That incident happened in 2009. The pilot got as far south as Missouri before being forced to land. Fighters had intercepted the errant pilot near the Wisconsin-U.P. border, but the plane continued on. A spokesperson for the 115th Fighter Wing says they were using F-16 jet fighters in conjunction with the Civil Air Patrol. F SSgt Andrea Rhode, USAF Public Affairs, emailed details of the training:

" They were F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 115th Fighter Wing in Madison completing what is called a 'fertile keynote' exercise. A fertile keynote is a term we use to describe our practice intercept missions. The Aerospace Control Alert jets need to be ready to go 24/7. They get their practice all over the state of Wisconsin by teaming up with the Civil Air Patrol's Cessna aircraft. They locate the Cessna and practice scenarios they may face in a real-world situation (for example, if radio communication is lost, the jets investigate the scenario). The fertile keynote exercises are our way of staying up-to-date on training for our Homeland Defense mission - ready to protect our nation."

The noise was considerably louder and longer than the routine takeoffs and landings at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport.

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