Why Was The Patriots’ Team Plane in Iowa This Weekend?
It had to be a bit confusing for people flying in and out of the Des Moines International Airport on Saturday. There, on the tarmac, was the official plane of the NFL's New England Patriots. I'm sure many football fans whipped out their phones and checked the Patriots' schedule to see where they were playing on the NFL Kickoff weekend. The Pats were in Miami on Sunday, by the way. So if the Patriots played in Florida on Sunday, why was their plane in Iowa on Saturday?
Well, it turns out that it has nothing to do with the game of football at all. The plane owned by Robert Kraft and the New England Patriots wasn't full of football players, but instead was transporting a group of National Guard Soldiers for training at Fort Dodge, according to WHO. The Iowa National Guard then confirmed that the aircraft carried 215 members of the 53rd Brigade Support Battalion out of Tampa, Florida. WHO reports that the plane touched down at around 5.15 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
So why was a plane owned by an NFL team chosen to fly members of the National Guard to Iowa? WHO reports that members of the Iowa National Guard say that they aren't sure. But, they point out that the National Guard contracts out bids for planes when it needs to fly large groups of troops from one location to another.
The plane remained on the tarmac throughout the day on Sunday. In case you're wondering how Bill Belichick and the Patriots got to Miami on Sunday, you guessed correctly. The Patriots have more than one team jet. Six Super Bowl wins will tend to get you those things. Hats off to the organization for allowing their planes to be used for our troops.