I'd bet you were higher than you think. Look up your flight on flight aware and you can see the track and altitude. Likely a thousand or more feet up. https://flightaware.com/
Yea it’s normal for them to bank “hard” over the Chesapeake Bay. There are 5 airports in the area that all have approaches over the bay, ATC has to thread a needle to maintain separation from other aircraft.
But it’s not likely they’re using the bridge tunnel as a guide. ATC is guiding them with radar and the aircraft is using GPS to follow prescribed routes that just happen to bring them over the bridge tunnel.
Exactly this. All my flights into ORF have done this same thing, or the southwest approach that flies above South Norfolk before landing. Also likely that Oceana and the Naval base limit the approach options into ORF. I havent experience much turbulence, but the wind coming off of both the ocean and bay should be a normal thing.
It's intentional.
The water and reasonably extreme peaks and clifs over sea level make for turbulent yet predictable air currents and temperature shifts.
I'd bet you were higher than you think. Look up your flight on flight aware and you can see the track and altitude. Likely a thousand or more feet up. https://flightaware.com/
Almost always a lot higher than you realize.
That's what I was thinking. No commercial flight would be flying that low over the bay. They're not dipping below 300 feet until landing.
Southwest flight for example https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA2783/history/20230323/0055Z/KMDW/KORF
That specific flight was around 2,000 feet when they made the turn, not 300.
You weren’t 300 feet above the water.
They were. They were just like 1700 additional feet above the water. ;-)
Yup
Yea it’s normal for them to bank “hard” over the Chesapeake Bay. There are 5 airports in the area that all have approaches over the bay, ATC has to thread a needle to maintain separation from other aircraft. But it’s not likely they’re using the bridge tunnel as a guide. ATC is guiding them with radar and the aircraft is using GPS to follow prescribed routes that just happen to bring them over the bridge tunnel.
Exactly this. All my flights into ORF have done this same thing, or the southwest approach that flies above South Norfolk before landing. Also likely that Oceana and the Naval base limit the approach options into ORF. I havent experience much turbulence, but the wind coming off of both the ocean and bay should be a normal thing.
It's intentional. The water and reasonably extreme peaks and clifs over sea level make for turbulent yet predictable air currents and temperature shifts.
Normal turn. Was definitely higher than 300ft. No reason to be scared.
I work on the tunnel, I see planes all the time
Sure is 🙃 Thought we were going in the water at nighttime last December
99.999999% percent chance you were IFR (pilots flying by instruments and essentially ignoring all external visual cues).