Teams of up to 25 people will strain against ropes attached to a 124,000-pound aircraft this Saturday at Long Beach Airport, competing to drag the plane 12 feet across the tarmac in the fastest time. The Special Olympics Southern California Plane Pull runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the JetZero facility at 4150 Donald Douglas Drive, according to the City of Long Beach.
The event is presented as a strength competition and fundraiser for Special Olympics Southern California. Parking is complimentary. Ryan Watson and Special Olympics athlete Sasha Cruz appear in an invitation video for the event.
Law Enforcement Drives the Fundraising Push
The pull is organized by the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which supports Special Olympics fundraising. That connection helps turn what looks like a novelty contest into a fundraising event.
This year's aircraft weighs in at 124,000 pounds. The Long Beach Post previously reported on a 124,000-pound Boeing 757 and UPS participation. The event has become an annual fixture at Long Beach Airport, drawing repeat participation from public safety agencies and area businesses alike.
JetZero and Kaiser Permanente Round Out the Roster
This year's host, JetZero, is a next-generation aerospace development firm that secured a 30-year lease for 16.5 acres at Long Beach Airport from the Long Beach City Council last October, part of a $50 million campus transformation Hoodline detailed at the time. Kaiser Permanente serves as the official health partner of Special Olympics Southern California and fields its own employee pull teams.
Special Olympics Southern California provides programs for athletes, and fundraising supports that work.
Part of a Bigger National Tradition
Long Beach's event fits into a broader national pattern of law enforcement using plane pulls to raise money for Special Olympics chapters. Special Olympics Colorado, for instance, hosts its own annual pull where 25-person teams haul a 130,000-pound United Airlines jet 12 feet at Denver International Airport, a format Hoodline covered in its report on Adams County deputies last month. As of Saturday, it remains to be seen whether this year's Long Beach fundraising targets will be met or which team posts the fastest pull time.
