Ian-Spawned Tornado Wrecks Dozens Of Aircraft

Hurricane Ian hadn’t even officially hit Florida when its fringe effects caused millions of dollars in damage to aircraft at North Perry Airport north of Miami.  Late Tuesday afternoon a tornado, possibly two, spawned by a line of thunderstorms created by Ian tossed dozens of airplanes at the tie-downs into a pile of bent aluminum and shattered composite. Tom Pendas took photos and posted them on Facebook and Weather Underground came across it.

Owners surveyed the damage on Wednesday and James Pena told Local 10 News that while his aircraft seemed safely tied down, others were flipped by the winds and they damaged those next to them. “Unfortunately the planes near them are the collateral damage of the planes flipping over on them,” Peña said. The airport is about 20 miles north of Miami and about 80 miles from the west side of the peninsula, which took the brunt of Ian's landfall on Wednesday