A Black Hawk Helicopter Tour Of Super Bowl's No-Fly Zone
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There is one place on game day even more exclusive than a Super Bowl seat: The air space above U.S. Bank Stadium.
WCCO got an aerial tour Friday afternoon from inside a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, courtesy of United States Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations unit.
"The Black Hawk that we're in right now will be one of the aircraft that we'll be using to enforce the no-fly zone, the 32-mile range that goes around the stadium come game day," said Kris Grogan, of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
As one of the most high-profile and densely-crowded events in the world, security is of utmost importance.
"We just did the … State of the Union the other day, and we do the Super Bowl every single year," Grogan said. "This is our mission. Our mission is to intercept things coming into the United States, and the good thing for this is, our border is only 32-miles radius around the stadium for this operation."
They are keeping Super Bowl spectators safe, from the skies above.
"You know, the big thing is security. We want the people of Minneapolis to feel secure during this year's Super Bowl," Grogan said.
The no-fly zone will be in effect Sunday from 3:30 p.m. until midnight.
The Black Hawks will also provide a birds-eye view to local police, and available to transport law enforcement quickly if a rapid response team is needed.
