See Post 111. According to
PASSUR, AWE 17 took off from Runway 22R at 6:49:45 - Like all planes taking off from that runway, it flew over the marshy waters of Jamaica Bay. Then, the 4-5 block wide Rockaway Peninsula (now at 2000 feet, about 3 miles from the end of the runway). Then, a 15 mile or so ride across the Atlantic Ocean to just south of Sandy Hook, New Jersey (now at about 9000 feet, continuing its climb). Plane then turns a bit more to the west.
The jog to the northwest before reaching Philadelphia may have been due to weather. There were
some storms in South Jersey and Southeast Pennsylvania at around 7:00PM on 9/15.
