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MIDDLETOWN — A Gulfstream IV jet owned by a firm in Kirkland, Wash., landed at Hook Field Municipal Airport late Thursday night is believed to have had Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on board as a passenger.

The first-term Alaska governor, the first woman elected to the position, was named the vice presidential candidate for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

According to the flight plan for the plane, the flight took six hours from Anchorage, Alaska.

McCain is in Dayton today to announce his running mate at the Nutter Center at Wright State University.

According to Rich Bevis of B&B Aero, the fixed-based operator at Hook Field, the jet, a Gulfstream IV which has the flight range to fly from Alaska to Europe, landed at about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28.

Bevis said the woman "was a real close match to Palin" and added that the flight crew that's based in the Seattle area was told to fly to Anchorage to pick up their party and fly to Middletown.

Bevis said the jet had a woman, two teenagers and two men on board and that a couple of white vans met the plane, gathered their gear and took the party to an undisclosed location.

Bevus said the 6,100-foot runway was the only airport outside of Lunken Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Dayton international airports that could accommodate a Gulfstream IV jet.

In addition, a plane landing at Hook Field would not draw a lot of attention because it is a non-towered facility, and it's not unusual for jets to land there, he said.

He said Dayton South/Wright Brothers and the Butler County Regional Airport would not be able to accommodate the jet.

Bevis said the flight crew told him that they would be flying "empty" with no passengers on their return trip to Everett, Wash. According to their flight plan, the jet is expected to depart Hook Field at about 10:30 a.m. today, Aug. 29.