Update, 29 September: The San Andreas Air National Guard has replied. It says the aircraft is not its own and was on “an authorized training flight”, with no live fire, but it will not say whether the Office of the Governor was told. The statement in full is in our follow-up, “Air National Guard tracked Coral Island’s Avenger, but will not say whether the Governor’s office was told”.
A military aircraft registered in Coral Island has been seen flying over Paleto Bay, the town where thousands of evacuees from Los Santos are now staying, according to residents and readers who have contacted Weazel News.
The aircraft is a Mammoth Avenger, a large military tilt-rotor built for transport and command.
The Government of Coral Island says the flight was for “training purposes”. Weazel News has not been told what the training involved, or why it took place over a town full of evacuees.
The San Andreas Air National Guard has been approached for comment. It had not replied by the time of publication.
What we do not know
Almost everything else. Weazel News cannot yet say when the aircraft was first seen, how long it stayed over the town, where it came from or where it went, or who was on board.
What we are asking
If this was training, why over a town that has taken in thousands of evacuees? Did the aircraft have clearance to enter San Andreas airspace, and if so, who gave it? Was the State told, and did Governor Diane Carrow’s office know before it flew? Did the Air National Guard know it was there?
We will publish any reply from the Guard in full.
Coral Island, this week
News of the aircraft comes a day after Weazel News reported that Coral Island’s President, Lucy Alvarez, who also owns the Rigged casino business, had been seen inside closed Los Santos and in Paleto Bay, and that we could find no record of a flight bringing her in. Coral Island’s own rules route travel through Los Santos International, which has been inside the cordon since the earthquake of Friday 25 September.
We have no information that the aircraft is connected to her visit. If you saw the aircraft, or took pictures of it, the Weazel News tip line is open.
