7 Museum Aircraft To Conduct 9/11 Coachella Valley Flyover

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Seven aircraft from the Palm Springs Air Museum are scheduled to take flight Saturday over the Coachella Valley to honor local first responders on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The flyover will start at approximately 9:45 a.m. According to the museum, the first locale will be Palm Springs Fire Station 2 during a special 9/11 memorial service being held there.

The fleet will then fly over 27 local city and county fire stations in the Coachella Valley and High Desert, including the 29 Palms Marine Base. From Palm Springs, the aircraft will head over Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage (County Fire Department), Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, Bermuda Dunes, Thousand Palms, Morongo Valley and San Bernardino County Fire stations, ending at 29 Palms.

The length of time in the air will be approximately 40 minutes, museum officials said.

Notable aircraft participating in the flyover are the P-63 King Cobra, two P-51 Mustangs, C-47 Sky Train, and the T-6 Texan.

The aircraft and exact route are subject to mechanical issues and the weather, especially smoke from the fires.

The aircraft will carry flags honoring local service personnel who lost their lives as a result of the U.S. war on terror, according to museum officials.

The names of local service members lost include:

• Marine Cpl Jesus A. Gonzalez of Indio, CA, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 29 Palms, CA - KIA April 12, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Marine 1st Lt. Joshua M. Palmer of Banning, CA, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA – KIA April 8, 2004 in Anbar Province, Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
• US Air Force Staff Sgt Jennifer Kepner, of Cathedral City, died Oct 18, 2017 from cancer as a result of exposure to Burn Pits at Camp Balad Air Base in Iraq. She served as a medic from 2001-2007 and spent 6 months at Camp Balad
• US Army Pfc Ming Sun, of Cathedral City, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carlson, CO, KIA January 7, 2007, Ramadi, Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom
• US Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Suresh Krause, of Cathedral City, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, KIA August 16, 2012, Kandahar Province, Iraq, Operation Enduring Freedom
• Marine Cpl Hunter Lopez of Indio, KIA, August 26, 2021, Kabul Airport, Afghanistan

Visit PSAirMuseum.org for more info.