Spirit Airlines flight goes viral for flying over a category 4 hurricane

Spirit Airlines has released a statement after flying a plane over Hurricane Erin on Monday, August 18.

The flight was heading from Philadelphia to San Juan when flight tracking images appeared to show it flying directly through the path of Hurricane Erin. 

As you might imagine, the flight attracted plenty of attention after images were shared by Flight Radar 24. 

So what exactly happened?

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Spirit Airlines has released a statement after flying over Hurricane Erin

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm on Monday, so radar and flight tracking images may have suggested flight NK2298 was in for a bumpy ride.

When images were shared online, some social media users questioned whether it was safe to fly that route.

But in a statement, Spirit Airlines told USA Today that the route was completely safe and the flight operated normally. 

Did Spirit take up the Hurricane Hunter mission? pic.twitter.com/OhYEPg9hl0

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 18, 2025

“Safety is always our top priority,” a spokesperson said. 

“Our pilots followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to San Juan (SJU). 

“Our Operations Control Center closely tracks weather systems and works with our pilots and ATC to determine flight paths that safely navigate around or above adverse weather conditions.”

Michael McCormick, coordinator of the Air Traffic Management Program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, also analyzed the flight data and told USA Today that he saw no cause for concern.

He noted that at the flight’s altitude it would be above any ‘significant weather’,  

“The aircraft was at FL 370 (37,000 feet) and only light turbulence was reported in that area,” he said. 

“At that altitude, the aircraft would be above the significant weather with the worst activity to the north of the flight path.”

A pilot has explained why you shouldn’t fear turbulence

Expert McCormick said those on board would likely have felt little more than ‘light turbulence’ on flight NK2298, which can still be a bit daunting for nervous fliers.

However, pilot and content creator flyman_simon recently explained why you don’t need to fear turbulence. 

He explained that while it may feel like a plane is ‘dropping’, this isn’t the case.

Typically, air flow around a plane is horizontal, and the wing lift is stable, which makes the plane feel steady. 

But a change in direction, caused by, for example, a mountain, can push air up and impact the amount of lift on the wing.

Although the change is only tiny, flying through can make the cabin shake, and this can make it feel as though the plane is dropping, but it’s not. 

“You’re being tricked into feeling that you’re dropping; there’s no such thing as air pockets,” the pilot explained

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