Lambeau Field helicopters' flyby surprised everyone -- including Green Bay Packers, police

GREEN BAY - The helicopters that circled Lambeau Field during Thursday night's Green Bay Packers game surprised everyone — including the Packers, police and more than 70,000 fans inside the stadium.

Two U.S. Navy helicopters flew in a circle above Lambeau about the time the Packers scored their second touchdown during a preseason game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"That had us scrambling last night," said Paul Ebel, the Green Bay Police commander who oversees game-day policing and security at the stadium.

He said neither law enforcement nor the team had been told that military aircraft would be flying near the field during the game. Military aircraft often do a "flyover" of the stadium immediately before regular-season games played in daylight, but the team and the military work together to schedule those in advance.

On Thursday, two MH-60R Seahawks approached the stadium from the north and flew in a clockwise circle above the stadium, witnesses said. Ebel said the helicopters departed to the east.

"We were right by the tunnel, about 18 rows up, and the helicopters were really low," said Chris Heling of Neenah, who was at the game with daughter Finley, 5. "One guy in the section was trying to tell me they just mis-timed the flyover, but I looked at the gameday information and there wasn't any mention of a flyover."

A video posted to Twitter shows the helicopters flying slowly to the south, just east of the stadium. Some of the people in the crowd of 74,434 cheer and point, and one fan flashes a peace sign.

Another video, shot by A.J. Grill of Howard, shows the aircraft moving slowly behind the scoreboard in the stadium's south end zone as fans celebrate a Packers touchdown.

"I've been to probably 75, 80 games," Heling said, "and I've never seen anything like that."

Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey said the team was not aware in advance of the flyby.

“The helicopter flights over Lambeau Field last night were not a planned component of the game. We are in contact today with the proper authorities to gather more information as to the nature of the flights,” he said.

"Typically, such flights around the stadium are (anthem) flyovers or when we arrange for photos. Sometimes the networks will have aircraft, too."

The U.S. Navy was looking into the matter on Friday, as well, said Cmdr. Ron Flanders of Naval Air Forces Pacific. He confirmed that no flyover was planned.

"The U.S. Navy prides itself on safety and professionalism in the air," he said. "We are looking into this matter."

It is unclear why the helicopters were in the Green Bay area. Naval helicopter forces are concentrated in San Diego and Norfolk, Va., but training is conducted across the country, Flanders said.

The helicopters arrived with 11:53 left to play in the first quarter. The Packers had just scored on Aaron Rodgers' eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham, their second score of the quarter. Tramon Williams had scored earlier on an interception return.

"It was right after the Packers scored that touchdown, so everybody was just kind of pointing and cheering," said Grill, who was seated in Section 108. "At first I thought it might be a news helicopter … then I remembered the Air Force had been at training camp this week, so I wondered if it had something to do with that."

Lambeau Field is near the flight path to Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport, which is about five miles to the west.

Ebel said air traffic controllers granted the helicopter pilots "permission to exit the air space heading east."

"They just happened to make a side trip," he said.

A USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin photograph of one of the helicopters appears to show a crew member taking photos or a video as the aircraft flies past the stadium.

The flight would not have been permitted during a regular-season or playoff game, Ebel said, because of rules prohibiting aircraft from flying that close to Lambeau during such contests. But, he said, those rules do not apply during preseason games.

In September 2009, a Boeing 757 coming to Austin Straubel pick up the Chicago Bears football team flew near Lambeau during the game and caused a stir. Then-Airport Director Tom Miller said at the time that the size of the aircraft probably made it seem lower than it was.

There was a similar event on Sept. 24, 2001, during the first Monday Night Football game after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Packers beat the Steelers 51-34 on Thursday night to improve their preseason record to 2-0.