Six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 143rd Airlift Wing, the Rhode Island Air National Guard unit at Quonset Point, were flown to Pope Field, North Carolina, on 6 February 2013 to avoid a severe winter storm that struck the northeast US. Between the volume of snow and the expected hurricane strength winds, wing officials in Rhode Island made the decision to evacuate their aircraft. Officials with the 440th Airlift Wing, the Air Force Reserve Command unit at Pope noted that severe hurricane-force winds can have a significant effect on aircraft hydraulics and flight control systems. Once exposed, those systems require extensive inspections before they can be airworthy again.
