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| Area of Flights. Click to Enlarge. |
Crittenden Countians may notice some low-flying aircraft through the end of the year. It has been announced that small, twin-engine Piper Navajo airplanes will be flying grids over Crittenden and other counties in the tri-state area as part of a research effort to collect 3D imagery of the Fluorspar District in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.
The low-level flights of about 260 to 1,000 feet above the ground are scheduled to occur in Crittenden County in October, November and December.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geological Surveys of Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana are partnering to image geology using airborne geophysical technology as part of the USGS Earth Mapping Resource Initiative (Earth MRI) project.
For this tri-state survey, the USGS is contracting with EON Geosciences and will fly over all or parts of 23 counties in southeastern Illinois, western Kentucky and southern Indiana. The planes and crew will be based out of the Barkley Regional airport in west Paducah. Weather permitting, the survey will be done by December. Planes will be taking imagery while flying a grid pattern along east-west flight lines spaced approximately 650 feet apart. North-south flight lines will be spaced 9,800 feet apart. All survey flights will occur during daylight hours.
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A Piper Navajo airplane with tail stinger magnetometer.
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Two Piper Navajo airplanes will be mounted with passive sensors that measure variations in the Earth’s magnetic field created by different rock types up to several miles beneath the surface. Each plane will also include sensors that measure soil and rock chemistry at the surface. None of the instruments carried on the aircraft pose a health risk to people or animals. The aircraft will be flown by experienced pilots that are specially trained and approved for low-level flying. All flights are coordinated with the FAA to ensure flights are in accordance with United States law.
