Why are planes flying over Ocoee?

Live planes overhead, which way the airports are landing right now, and the air traffic controllers working the sky over Ocoee, FL.

Quick answer

Ocoee is within 20 miles of 2 airports with control towers: Orlando Executive and Orlando International. Most planes you see over Ocoee are taking off from or landing at one of them. Airports take off and land into the wind, so when the wind changes, the paths over Ocoee change too.

Right now over Ocoee

Live aircraft within about 8 miles of Ocoee, updated every 30 seconds.

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Open the live radar for Ocoee →See every plane on the full live map ↗
Listen to the controllers liveHear the air traffic controllers talking to the planes over Ocoee, free and live.Opens LiveATC, free feeds run by volunteers (not part of Thank ATC). Not every tower has a feed at all hours.

Hearing helicopters or sirens? Listen to the Orange County police scanner ↗

Flying for Thanksgiving? Last year the busiest hour at MCO security was 5–6 AM on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This year that’s Sunday, Nov 29. See every hour at MCO →

Which way the airports are landing right now

Planes take off and land into the wind. Here is the wind at each airport right now, and what it means for the planes over Ocoee.

ORLOrlando Executive13 mi east

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ORL runway in use today →Thank ORL Tower →
MCOOrlando International17 mi southeast

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MCO runway in use today →Thank MCO Tower →

Tap the map to see how often planes pass over that spot. Zoom in with + and –, or pinch with two fingers. 📍 shows where you are. ⤢ goes back to the full view.

Live planes move along their real tracks: pink is low (under 3,000 feet, with altitude in hundreds of feet), navy is climbing or descending, gray is cruising high, green is a helicopter. Gold arrows show which way each airport is landing. Blue circles are airports with control towers. The shaded paths come from weeks of recorded flights: the darker the shading, the more planes fly there. Street map: OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Arriving planes don’t fly straight to the runway. Controllers line them up like cars merging onto a highway, often 10 to 20 miles or more from the airport, and fly them along the side of the airport before turning them toward the runway. That is why a town several miles from an airport can sit right under the line of arriving planes, and why it changes when the airport switches direction.

Flight paths over Ocoee: what the recorded flights show

We’ve recorded months of flights below 10,000 feet over this area. Here’s what they show for Ocoee, and which way the wind sets the runways at each nearby airport. These are averages: any single day can be quieter or busier.

  • Aircraft rarely fly right over the center of Ocoee: under a minute a day on average.
  • The busiest flight path near Ocoee is about 1.1 miles west of the center of Ocoee, where an aircraft is overhead about 4 minutes a day (very roughly 35 flights), usually around 6,600 ft above the main airport.
  • There: 36% low, under 4,000 ft · 64% higher, 4,000 to 10,000 ft.
  • Most of them are heading west.
  • It’s busiest on days the wind blows from the north (about 6 minutes a day), and quieter when it blows from the south (under a minute).

Which way the wind sets the runways

  • Orlando Executive (ORL), 12.9 miles east: over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, it favored landing toward the northeast (runway 7) 33% of the time and toward the northwest (runway 31) 28%.
  • Orlando International (MCO), 17.2 miles southeast: over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, it favored landing toward the north (runways 35L, 35R, 36L and 36R) 62% of the time and toward the south (runways 17L, 17R, 18L and 18R) 38%.

Estimated from the past year’s hourly winds (Nov 2025 to Oct 2026), counting the hours with at least a light breeze. The wind leads, but controllers also weigh noise rules, traffic and runway work, so the runway in use doesn’t always match.

Is your street under a flight path? Check your exact address →

Who controls the sky over Ocoee

These air traffic control facilities keep the planes over Ocoee safely apart. Each one has a free thank-you wall.

  1. ORLTowerOrlando Executive Tower (ORL)Takeoffs and landings at Orlando ExecutiveThank them →
  2. MCOTowerOrlando International Tower (MCO)Takeoffs and landings at Orlando InternationalThank them →
  3. F11Approach controlCentral Florida TRACON (F11)Guides planes climbing out of and coming down into the airports around OcoeeThank them →
  4. ZJXEn route centerJacksonville ARTCC (ZJX)Handles flights cruising high over OcoeeThank them →

Why the flight paths over Ocoee change

The wind

Airports use the runway that points most into the wind. When the wind swings around, arrivals and departures flip to the other end of the runway, and planes can start crossing a different part of Ocoee. That often happens when a front or a line of storms moves through.

Storms

Controllers steer planes around thunderstorms, so on stormy afternoons flights can show up where you normally never see them, sometimes lower and closer together than usual.

Busy times

At busy times, controllers space arrivals a few miles apart and may extend the line of planes farther out, which can stretch the arrival path over more neighborhoods.

Training and small planes

Smaller airports nearby are home to flight schools. Student pilots practice takeoffs, landings and approaches, so you may see the same small plane circle back again and again.

Questions about aircraft noise in Ocoee

Aircraft noise is handled by the airport, not by air traffic control. Each airport (usually run by a city, county or airport authority) has its own noise office and wants to hear about specific flights, so note the date and time. The airports near Ocoee are:

To find the right noise office, search the airport’s name with the word “noise,” or use the FAA’s airport locator. If the airport can’t help, the FAA’s noise ombudsman can. FAA: Noise complaints and inquiries → · Find your airport’s noise office, and what helps at home →

Nearby towns

Planes over other towns →

Every plane over Ocoee is talking to a controller. Say thanks to the people who keep them safely apart.

Find your airport or ATC facility →

Common questions

How many planes fly over Ocoee a day?

Very few fly right over the center of Ocoee. The busiest nearby path, about 1.1 miles west of the center, has an aircraft overhead about 4 minutes a day (very roughly 35 flights).

Which way does MCO usually land?

Over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, the wind favored Orlando International landing toward the north (runways 35L, 35R, 36L and 36R) 62% of the time and toward the south (runways 17L, 17R, 18L and 18R) 38%. Planes take off and land into the wind, so the direction flips when the wind does.

Why are planes flying so low over Ocoee?

Planes low over Ocoee are usually landing at or taking off from one of the nearby airports, such as Orlando Executive (ORL), 13 miles away. Air traffic controllers keep every one of them safely separated from the others.

Why are there more planes over Ocoee some days?

Mostly because of the wind. Airports take off and land into the wind, so a wind shift can send arrivals or departures over different neighborhoods. Storms and busy travel days can also move or stretch the usual paths.

Which airport are the planes over Ocoee going to?

The closest airports with control towers are Orlando Executive (ORL), Orlando International (MCO). Low planes are usually using one of these; higher jets are often passing over on the way somewhere else.

Who do I contact about airplane noise in Ocoee?

The noise office of the airport the plane was using, not the control tower. Have the date and time ready. If the airport can't help, the FAA's noise ombudsman takes inquiries through faa.gov/noise.

Updated November 2026

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