When Vital Weather Data Is Needed, Muppets Take Flight

“For the most part, the aircraft have their own souls,” said a pilot of the meteorological research planes, which are known as Kermit, Miss Piggy and Gonzo.The cockpit of a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft, featuring a toy Kermit Muppet dangling inside the cockpit, as it flew through Tropical Storm Helene above the Gulf of Mexico in September 2024.