Florida, United States

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aircraft Operations Centre released a hair-raising video of their research plane the moment when it flew directly into Hurricane Milton.

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In the harrowing footage, the plane is seen shaking violently amid heavy turbulence.

The video tries to capture the side window view of the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft “Miss Piggy” in which the aircraft is seen flying within an impenetrable grey sky as heavy rains pound it.

“Bumpy ride into Hurricane #Milton on@NOAA WP-3D Orion,” wrote the NOAA Aircraft Operations Centre in a post on X.

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Also Read: Hurricane Milton from space: Astronaut shares timelapse of mega storm

The agency stated that the trip was aimed at collecting data for the research of the hurricane and improving the forecast of the storm.

There were at least four NOAA researchers inside the plane.

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In the video, electrical engineer Tom Brannigan is seen sitting at the AVAPS (Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System) in the turbulent plane.

As the turbulence intensifies, a plastic bag is seen rotating 180 degrees and its contents drop on the floor.

Programs Integration Engineer Nick Underwood, who is capturing the journey, is heard asking, “Can you grab my phone real quick?"

Brannigan tries to reach for the cell phone of his colleague but at the same moment turbulence worsens and the items fly off a shelf on the plane.

“Damn,” Brannigan exclaimed as Underwood said, "Holy crap. When you get a chance, can you grab my wallet too? Gotta keep these pockets zipped!” 

Flying an airplane into a hurricane 'dangerous undertaking': NOAA

Speaking to the New York Post, NOAA Aircraft Operations Centre's Public Affairs Specialist Jonathan Shannon said, “Our NOAA WP-3D Orion aircraft have been flying into storms for almost 50 years."

Shannon stated that such missions are important because their scientists “cannot get this important data our forecasters need at this scale and resolution any other way.”

Watch: USA News: Florida Evacuates As Category 5 Storm Milton Intensifies Rapidly 

“We basically take a weather station to the weather,” he said.

Inside the aircraft, the NOAA researchers remained calm and in good spirits amid the hurricane.

“The best analogy I’ve heard is it is like riding an old wooden roller coaster through a car wash,” said Shannon.

However, he accepted that flying an aeroplane into a hurricane is still a “dangerous undertaking. We do our best to mitigate that danger.”

(With inputs from agencies)