Dow flies home to Midland the week of the NRC nuclear milestone

Dow flew from MBS International Airport to MBS International Airport on June 8, a seven-minute, 625-foot-high loop that never left the Midland vicinity. The brief flight — a ground-level exercise in registration N892D, the company's Bombardier CRJ-900 — likely served as a maintenance or crew checkout rather than a journey.

The same week, Dow is preparing for two consequential events at its Seadrift, Texas, complex. On May 18, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for Dow and X-energy's proposed Long Mott Generating Station, a first-of-its-kind advanced nuclear reactor that would supply steam and electricity to the 4,700-acre site, per a Dow press release. The company faces a separate legal deadline: Texas is suing Dow subsidiary Union Carbide over alleged water pollution at the same facility, as the Texas Tribune reported in February.

The Midland flight pattern — essentially a driveway turn — is unusual for an aircraft that typically shuttles engineering teams between Baton Rouge and Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport, a route Dow's CRJ-900 has flown five times since May 5. With the NRC green light and a courtroom date on the calendar, the company's in-house aviation fleet is staying close to headquarters.