Why are planes flying over Pembroke Pines?

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

Quick answer

Pembroke Pines is within 20 miles of 5 airports with control towers: North Perry, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, Miami-Opa Locka Executive, Fort Lauderdale Executive and Miami International. Most planes you see over Pembroke Pines 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 Pembroke Pines change too.

Right now over Pembroke Pines

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

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Open the live radar for Pembroke Pines →See every plane on the full live map ↗
Listen to the controllers liveHear the air traffic controllers talking to the planes over Pembroke Pines, 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 Broward County police scanner ↗

Flying for Thanksgiving? Last year the busiest hour at MIA security was 6–7 PM on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This year that’s Sunday, Nov 29. See every hour at MIA →

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 Pembroke Pines.

FLLFort Lauderdale-Hollywood International6 mi northeast

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FLL runway in use today →Thank FLL Tower →
OPFMiami-Opa Locka Executive7 mi south-southwest

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OPF runway in use today →Thank OPF Tower →
FXEFort Lauderdale Executive14 mi north-northeast

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FXE runway in use today →Thank FXE Tower →
MIAMiami International15 mi south-southwest

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MIA runway in use today →Thank MIA 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 Pembroke Pines: what the recorded flights show

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

  • Over the center of Pembroke Pines, an aircraft is overhead about 30 minutes a day on average (very roughly 180 flights).
  • The busiest flight path near Pembroke Pines is about half a mile southwest of the center of Pembroke Pines, where an aircraft is overhead about 2.4 hours a day (very roughly 875 flights), usually around 400 ft above the main airport.
  • There: 98% low, under 4,000 ft.
  • Most of them are heading east.

Which way the wind sets the runways

  • North Perry (HWO), 1.1 miles west: over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, it favored landing toward the east (runways 10L and 10R) 47% of the time and toward the north (runways 1L and 1R) 25%. When HWO is using the east runways, departing planes climb out toward Pembroke Pines.
  • Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL), 6.5 miles northeast: over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, it favored landing toward the east (runways 10L and 10R) 70% of the time and toward the west (runways 28L and 28R) 30%.
  • Miami-Opa Locka Executive (OPF), 7.4 miles south-southwest: over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, it favored landing toward the east (runways 9L and 9R) 36% of the time and toward the southeast (runway 12) 31%.

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 Pembroke Pines

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

  1. HWOTowerNorth Perry Tower (HWO)Takeoffs and landings at North PerryThank them →
  2. FLLTowerFort Lauderdale Tower (FLL)Takeoffs and landings at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood InternationalThank them →
  3. OPFTowerMiami-Opa Locka Executive Tower (OPF)Takeoffs and landings at Miami-Opa Locka ExecutiveThank them →
  4. FXETowerFort Lauderdale Executive Tower (FXE)Takeoffs and landings at Fort Lauderdale ExecutiveThank them →
  5. MIATowerMiami International Tower (MIA)Takeoffs and landings at Miami InternationalThank them →
  6. MIAApproach controlMiami TRACON (MIA)Guides planes climbing out of and coming down into the airports around Pembroke PinesThank them →
  7. ZMAEn route centerMiami ARTCC (ZMA)Handles flights cruising high over Pembroke PinesThank them →

Why the flight paths over Pembroke Pines 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 Pembroke Pines. 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 Pembroke Pines

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 Pembroke Pines 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 →

🚀 Can you see rocket launches from Pembroke Pines? →

Every plane over Pembroke Pines 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 Pembroke Pines a day?

Based on months of recorded flights below 10,000 feet, an aircraft is over the center of Pembroke Pines about 30 minutes a day on average (very roughly 180 flights). The busiest nearby path, about 0.4 miles southwest of the center, has an aircraft overhead about 2.4 hours a day (very roughly 875 flights).

Which way does FLL usually land?

Over the past year, whenever there was a breeze, the wind favored Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International landing toward the east (runways 10L and 10R) 70% of the time and toward the west (runways 28L and 28R) 30%. Planes take off and land into the wind, so the direction flips when the wind does.

Why are planes flying so low over Pembroke Pines?

Planes low over Pembroke Pines are usually landing at or taking off from one of the nearby airports, such as North Perry (HWO), 1 miles away. Air traffic controllers keep every one of them safely separated from the others.

Why are there more planes over Pembroke Pines 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 Pembroke Pines going to?

The closest airports with control towers are North Perry (HWO), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL), Miami-Opa Locka Executive (OPF), Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE), Miami International (MIA). 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 Pembroke Pines?

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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