Boeing is sending aircraft from the company’s South Carolina facilities off-site in anticipation of Hurricane Florence making landfall.
Company spokesperson Paul Bergman confirmed some aircraft are heading to the Puget Sound region. He did not confirm how many planes are being sent over or exactly where they would end up.
A flight tracker shows several Dreamliners flying from Charleston International Airport to the Puget Sound region Tuesday. At least five are headed to Paine Field, according to Flightaware. Boeing confirmed the planes are going to Paine Field.
Boeing suspended operations Tuesday at its facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina after Governor Henry McMaster issued mandatory evacuations for all of South Carolina’s coast. According to a Facebook post, a limited team reported to work to deal with final preparations, including getting planes off site.
Boeing South Carolina is the company’s second 787 Dreamliner final assembly and delivery facility. Workers at the site also fabricate, assemble, and install systems for rear fuselage sections of the 787 Dreamliner. The facility builds all three versions of the 787.
Hurricane Florence is expected to strike somewhere in the Carolinas. The Category 4 hurricane could cause catastrophic damage.
Evacuations in eight of the state’s 46 counties are mandatory.
“This is a very dangerous hurricane, but we are not going to gamble with the lives of people in South Carolina,” McMaster said after announcing the mandatory evacuations.
