• File:F-117-3.jpg
• File:F-7f-2.jpg
• File:Hellcat-1.jpg
• File:Grumman A-6E Intruder from VA-34 in flight, circa in 1991.jpg
• File:A-6E and KA-6D Intruder of VA-165 in flight, in 1980.jpg
• File:P-38-1.jpg
• File:P-47-3.jpg
• File:Plane3.jpg
• File:Planes.jpg
• File:Pup.jpg
• File:Raven-1.jpg
• File:Sabre-aero.jpg
• File:3planes.jpg
• File:Blackbird-2.jpg
• File:BlueAngels-5.jpg
• File:C-17-1.jpg
• File:Concorde (2007-09-10).jpg
• File:F-101.jpg

These images were all sourced from a webpage of the US National Weather Service but are highly atypical of the kinds of images that NWS staff take in the course of their duties. NWS pages host a mixture of images created by the NWS (and therefore in the public domain) and the work of third-party organizations and individuals under a variety of licenses. We rely on image captions to help distinguish these, but these images are no longer published, and the NWS page that they were originally published on is now lost. We do know that at least two of the photos in this batch (one of which has already been redirected) definitely originated with third parties.

For many years, hosting such images on the Commons was done in good faith under the rationale that:

• public submissions to the NWS all entered the public domain and/or
• all files hosted on NWS websites were in the public domain unless they carried a formal copyright notice

An extensive review of this rationale in 2024 revealed that neither of these beliefs held up to scrutiny. These findings were confirmed in an RfC conducted from August to October 2024.

Per COM:ONUS it is the responsibility of the person uploading an image to the Commons or anyone arguing for its retention here to provide evidence of permission from the copyright holder. For anyone interested in seeking the permission of the creators to retain these files, I offer, as a head start, the following notes left over from when I investigated them:

all files

NWS Key West emailed September 24. No response. VRT ticket:2024110410004861

File:B-2-clouds.jpg (not part of this request)

was uploaded as part of this batch from the same NWS page. I previously identified this as a USAF photo and requested its redirection (log). This photo was not taken by an NWS staff member on duty.

File:Sabre-aero.jpg

these F-86 Sabres belong to the Japanese Self-Defense Air Force aerobatic team w:Blue Impulse and are in the livery the team carried from the early 1960s through to about 1981. The team did not perform outside Japan in this time. This photo was not taken by an NWS staff member on duty.

File:F-101.jpg

Canadian Air Force example, which retired the type in 1984; possibly a visitor to NAS Key West? But it is at least highly questionable that this photo was taken by an NWS staff member on duty.

File:Concorde (2007-09-10).jpg

Concorde did operate out of Miami 1984-1991, but it is at least highly questionable that this photo was taken by an NWS staff member on duty

File:Planes.jpg

A reverse-image search shows up multiple formats of this image on various desktop and phone-background type sites. The sunrise/sunset in the background also shows up in various stock image galleries with other objects in the foreground. It is at least highly questionable that any or all the elements of this image were made by an NWS staff member on duty.

File:Plane3.jpg

Apparent air-to-air image of a Cessna 182. It is at least highly questionable that this photo was taken by an NWS staff member on duty

File:C-17-1.jpg

Another air-to-air image, this time of a C-17. This looks like either a USAF or Boeing photo, but I haven't been able to find it elsewhere.

Many of the other images look like they might have been taken at airshows, and perhaps originate from the personal collection