From the Skies to the Stadium: Hometown Pilot Set to Fire Up Seahawks Fans Before NFC Championship
As the Seahawks prepare to battle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, fans at Lumen Field will get an adrenaline boost before the opening kickoff - not from a highlight reel, but from the roar of fighter jets streaking across the Seattle sky.
Leading that flyover is Lt. Dustin “Thud” Kopp, a fighter pilot with the Oregon Air National Guard and a proud native of Battle Ground, Washington.
For Kopp, this isn’t just another mission. It’s personal.
“I’m from Battleground, Washington,” Kopp said. “Went to high school there, lived here for a while, went off to college and military pilot training, and now I’m back, and I live in Battleground again.”
Kopp will be flying the Air Force’s newest fighter jet, the F-15EX - a machine built for speed, precision, and, yes, noise. Sunday’s flyover will feature two of these jets flying in tight formation, a high-stakes maneuver over one of the busiest airspaces in the country. And just like the Seahawks on the field, Kopp and his team will be aiming for perfect execution.
“There’s a lot that goes into getting two airplanes at the specific place, plus or minus two seconds,” he explained. “It’s really actually value-added training for us, and the heat is on to perform well.”
The planning behind this moment is as intense as any two-minute drill. Kopp and his crew have spent hours dialing in every variable - from wind and weather to fuel loads and air traffic control.
The goal? Hit their mark above Lumen Field within a two-second window, right as the national anthem wraps.
“We’re just doing the math on the exact ground speed we need to fly, and the exact holding pattern, how to adjust for the weather, the winds, and how to safely navigate through downtown Seattle to hit our time over the field within a couple seconds,” Kopp said.
And just like a quarterback checking down at the line, there’s a ground coordinator in constant contact, ready to adjust for any last-minute changes - including delays in the anthem or air traffic hiccups.
“There could be delays on the national anthem on the field,” Kopp said. “There could be delays for our air traffic controllers getting us in and out of Seattle… so there’s quite a few variables.”
Fans inside the stadium won’t have to wait long to feel the impact - literally. The F-15EX is built to make an entrance. With upgraded engines and afterburners that scream through the sky, the jets will be heard well before they’re seen.
“The F-15 is very loud,” Kopp said. “We’re flying the newest variant, the F-15EX, which has newer, bigger engines. Afterburners are extremely loud… the sound of freedom should be echoing through the stadium pretty good.”
Kopp’s no stranger to powerful aircraft - he previously flew the A-10 - but the F-15EX brings a different kind of thrill. And on a day when emotions will already be running high, he’s hoping the flyover adds a little extra spark to the Seahawks’ home-field advantage.
“This airplane is awesome to shake some windows and get people fired up for the game,” he said.
Though he won’t be in the stands, Kopp will be watching the game closely - and cheering even louder.
“Being from Washington, I love the Seahawks,” he said. “Flying over a Seahawks game - that’s going to be probably a game for the history books.”
So when the skies over Lumen Field erupt with the thunder of jet engines on Sunday, know this: it’s not just a show of military precision. It’s a hometown kid, now a top-tier pilot, bringing his own kind of energy to the biggest game of the season.