SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A peaceful University City neighborhood got quite a stir when one of the biggest planes on the planet rumbled right over them on a foggy Tuesday night.
Residents claim the C-17 flew frightening close overhead, at 1,500 feet overhead.
"It was like a big flying saucer or something hovering up there," said resident Ed Reiger.
Reiger lives about a block from where a fighter jet crash landed on homes in 2008. The F/A-18 Hornet experienced engine malfunction before it crashed destroying a couple of homes, killing two women and two children inside one residence.
"It's a scar," Reiger said. "There's people, and whenever any low flying jets come through, they're the first ones on the phone to Miramar to let them know about it."
Dozens of residents took to social media to voice their concerns about the C-17's flight path. One woman described it as the scariest encounter yet.
A spokesman for MCAS Miramar told 10News the C-17 was not off course. He said the wind patterns and on-board equipment dictated the already approved flight path. He added there was not a problem with the plane, and that the 1,500 foot altitude is within FAA regulations.
But residents like Reiger still wondered why they took that route.
"You'd almost think like, it was some big flying saucer or something hovering up there," he said.
Reiger said it's probably something he'll never see again, and many of his neighbors hope he's right.
