More than two dozen World War II-era fighters and bomber planes whooshed over Washington, D.C.’s most famous monuments on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and hundreds of World War II veterans attended the flyover, which was open to the public and started around noon, according to the organizers of the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover.
The event forced Washington’s Reagan National Airport to shut down for one hour, from noon to 1 p.m.
CNN Politics producer Jeff Simon hopped on board one of the historic planes for a bird’s eye view of the action.
The former military planes flew in sequenced formations recounting the biggest battles of World War II, from Pearl Harbor to the final assault on Japan.
One of the World War II-era planes flying in formation peeled off from formation and landed at Reagan after the pilot detected a hydraulic problem, according to David Mould, a spokesman for Reagan National Airport.
The pilot radioed ahead to the airport. The plane is being checked now, and everyone who was on board is safe.
The planes flew over D.C.’s National Mall, from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War II Memorial.
The planes, including the P-38 Lightning, FG-1D Corsair, P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell and the only flying B-29 Superfortress, will also be on display Saturday for a one-day exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport.
