Tough Flight: NOAA hurricane hunters fly into the Eye of Milton in a heart-racing flight caught on camera

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were in for a bumpy ride after sending planes into the eye of Hurricane Milton to collect data on the massive storm barreling toward Florida.

The flight missions were conducted by the Aircraft Operations Center's WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 aircraft, affectionately known as “Miss Piggy.”

The government agency said in a social media post that missions like “Miss Piggy” are deployed to collect critical data to help improve forecasts of their path and intensity and to support hurricane research.

“Data collected by the agency's high-flying weather stations helps forecasters make accurate forecasts during a hurricane and helps hurricane researchers gain a better understanding of storm processes and improve their forecast models,” the agency said.

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NOAA Lockheed WP-3D Orion “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft (N43RF) departs Lakeland Linder International Airport in Lakeland, Florida. (NOAA)

NOAA Program and Integration Engineer Nick Underwood stands next to an aircraft system and beneath one of NOAA's two Lockheed WP-3D Orion “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft. (Sophie Talbert NOAA)

NOAA Programs and Integration Engineer Nick Underwood captured the intense flight through the Category 5 cyclone.

The video captured the turbulent ride, with loose items – including Underwood's cellphone and wallet – flying through the plane.

Radar display of NOAA WP-3D Orion N43RF “Miss Piggy” at the center of a 2023 tropical storm circulation. (NOAA Nick Underwood)

The aircraft are flown and manned by members of the NOAA Commissioned Officers Corp. and the scientists on board use instruments that continuously transmit measurements back to the ground.

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Crews will measure the storm's pressure, humidity, temperature, wind direction and speed to provide “a detailed look at the storm's structure and its intensity.”