Airplane Escorted By Fighter Jet Draws Attention

The Federal Aviation Administration explained what was behind the sight of a passenger airplane being escorted by a fighter jet over the skies of Palm Springs and several other Southern California cities on Thursday morning.

KESQ News Channel 3 received several calls around 10:15 a.m. reporting the planes flying over Desert Center, Indio, La Quinta and into Palm Springs International Airport.

People were also posting descriptions of what they saw on Twitter and Facebook.

“Crazy,” wrote Thousand Palms resident Erik Gonzales on his Facebook page. “This fighter jet was escorting a plane to Palm Springs’ airport.”

“A fighter jet just flew over my head,” posted Patrick Pape, a San Ramon, Calif., resident who was traveling on Interstate 10 at the time. “I could see the pilot. (It was) heading west near Desert Center.”

The escort was part of a well-choreographed photo shoot for a privately-owned plane, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

No specifics about who the plane belonged to were provided.