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Westover C-5 soars over thousands at Patriots playoff game

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Biscoe
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  A Patriot Wing aircrew helped the New England Patriots get off to a roaring start as more than 60,000 people watched a C-5 perform a flyby over Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Millions more people who tuned in to watch the American Football Conference playoff game between the Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens saw the massive airlifter approach the stadium, then bank slowly as it departed the area.

Just seconds after Aerosmith's Steven Tyler sang the final notes of the National Anthem, the C-5 from the Air Force Reserve's 439th Airlift Wing flew over the cheering crowd, and elicited glances skyward from Patriot quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, all on national television.

The Patriots beat the Ravens, 23-20, to advance to the Super Bowl.