U.S. Air Force pilots use taxiway as a runway at Hill Air Force Base

U.S. Air Force pilots are using taxiway, a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways and hangars, as a runway at Hill Air Force Base.

Though the Hill Air Force Base runway has been closed for several weeks due to a major runway reconstruction project, that doesn’t mean that all flying operations had to be cancelled.

The runway at Hill AFB has been closed for most of the summer, requiring test pilots to temporarily use the taxiway as a runway, according to a statement released by Air Force.

With the F-35A Lightning II’s from the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings being deployed during this same time, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex still needed to get aircraft in and out of the base on an almost daily basis.

For this to happen, pilots from the 514th Flight Test Squadron needed to use the taxiway that runs parallel to the runway.