Four US Air Force fighter jets flew across South Iceland this morning. People were surprised at the sight and engine sound but the birds even more so. The Icelandic Coast Guard reported that the jets had had a stopover in Iceland on their way across the Atlantic.
Auður Sigríður Kristinsdóttir was enjoying the morning on her patio in Þingvellir. “We were lying here, listening to loud bird song, including the tunes of the loon. When the fighter jets flew across all the birds went quiet and didn’t start singing again until approximately 45 minutes later. Now, 90 minutes later, we still haven’t heard from the loon, but the ducks are quacking enthusiastically,” she told RÚV.
Guðni Sigurðsson, information officer for Isavia, explained to RÚV that these had been Warthogs, or Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter jets. An aircraft carrying fuel accompanied the four Warthogs. He specified that they were en route from the Ämari military base in Estonia to the US.
