Nationwide Pause Cancelled Flyover At Montana Homecoming Game

[UPDATE: 10/15/2024 at 3:49 pm]

Public Affairs Officer with the Montana National Guard Ryan Finnegan emailed me this morning providing an explanation. Finnegan said "The Montana Air National Guard is already working with UM staff for options on a flyover at a different game later in the year, subject to the national hold being lifted. I've just checked with National Guard Bureau and there is no timeline when that may be."

Finnegan also forwarded the statement released by the Department of the Air Force Public Affairs.

“The Air National Guard (ANG) has placed a temporary hold on all flyover support as they evaluate aerial event protocols and procedures. During this time, some of your events will be impacted. For flyover events currently supported by the ANG in the near future, flyover support requests can still be potentially filled by non-ANG units (i.e. Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve Component). We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and will keep you updated"

[Original story]

While we had hoped for this to be lifted this week, unfortunately that is not the case as this weekend’s events will be impacted.

The 2024 University of Montana Homecoming was spectacular on all fronts. Griz Football secured a win, Griz Soccer leaped to first place in the Big Sky Conference, the parade was great, and the weather was beautiful. But we missed out on one key pregame element: a flyover.

The Montana National Guard was scheduled for a flyover during the pregame ceremony before the showdown against Northern Arizona but had to cancel it due to a nationwide flyover stoppage. Montana Associate Athletic Director of Marketing and Communications Nic Hallisey informed us before the game "There will no longer be a flyover. A separate incident across the country, in which a plane flew too low to a stadium, has caused the Department of Defense to shut down all Air National Guard flyovers for the next 30 days."

I reached out to a contact with the Montana Air National Guard but have yet to hear back from him. Outside of that, the only story I could find regarding a "hold" on flyovers came from Northern News Now out of Duluth, Minnesota. The TV station posted an article on September 27 saying there would be no flyover at the Minnesota Vikings—Green Bay Packers game on Sunday, September 29. The article also states flyovers can be conducted by groups not affiliated with the Air National Guard.

I also requested the U.S. Air Force confirm the nationwide stoppage and how long it would last.