Planes Are Flying Lower In Buffalo, New York?

It appears that planes are flying lower into the Buffalo Niagara Airport, but there’s a good reason as to why. 

If you were soaking up the sun this weekend around Western New York, you may have noticed that the planes seem lower than usual as of late. 

I was on a run on Sunday, and I wasn’t really close to the airport, yet the planes were loud and closer to the ground than they usually are – at least, from what I could tell. 

It turns out, most people in Western New York had the same perspective, and one person posted their observations in the Buffalo subReddit to see if anyone else picked up on it. 

Low planes today?
by u/Guinnessisameal in Buffalo

The OP (original poster) said: “All day today seems like the planes are all lower than normal. This is in the town of Tonawanda NF Boulevard and Sheridan area. Are they doing something different at the airport? I see planes all year long, and these are low.”

Turns out, they were! 

What Causes The Planes To Fly Low?

A controller at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport said, “One of our runways is under construction all summer long. So we are forced to use a different one.”

Using a different runway causes the routes that are sent to planes to be a little different than they have been in the past. The controller advised Western New Yorkers to “expect it to continue until the middle of September.”

Typically, when an aircraft flies low, it is to properly line up with the runways to execute safe landings. However, the aircraft could appear lower than it actually is, because the large sizes and angle of view makes them appear closer. 

Plane Watching? This Is A Perfect Time To Do So

The controller at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport said this would be a good time to watch the planes land on runway 32. “While this construction is going on,” he wrote. “If you have some free time and [are] able to drive over here…You should sit at the speedway gas station right on the edge of the airport.”

The planes landing on this other runway give it a unique effect that makes them look “unbelievably massive.”