By Cris Alarcon, InEDC Writer. March 3, 2026)
EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — Residents across the Sierra foothills reported two fast-moving military jets flying overhead around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, prompting questions on local social media about the source of the noise.
Witnesses in Lotus, Placerville and near the Forebay described seeing two slender jets flying in formation. One resident who tracks military aircraft activity said the aircraft appeared to be T-38 jets operating out of Beale Air Force Base.
“There’s no specific public flight report for today,” the resident said, “but they routinely train in Northern California and the foothills. They’re working.”
Beale AFB, located northwest of El Dorado County near Marysville, is home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. The wing operates the high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and maintains a fleet of Northrop T-38 Talon jets as companion trainers. The T-38 is a twin-engine, supersonic trainer aircraft recognizable by its narrow fuselage and pointed nose profile.
Although military flight schedules are not released publicly for operational security reasons, El Dorado County lies within standard military training corridors used by Beale-based aircraft transiting to and from high-altitude training areas over the Sierra Nevada.
Beale’s T-38 operations remain active in 2026. On Feb. 5, a T-38 conducted a precautionary emergency landing at the base following an in-flight issue, according to publicly reported base activity. The incident ended without injury.
The variant commonly seen in California includes both the legacy T-38A model and the upgraded T-38C, which features a modernized glass cockpit. While the T-38C is widely used by Air Education and Training Command installations, Beale aircraft may transit through regional airspace during routine proficiency missions.
Military aircraft may appear intermittently on civilian tracking platforms such as ADS-B Exchange, though transponders are sometimes filtered or deactivated. Aviation observers say brief afternoon flyovers are typical during weekday training windows.
For residents who heard the jets Tuesday afternoon, the activity appears consistent with routine operations rather than any emergency response or unusual deployment.
