Several studies have reported that microorganisms are co-transported with globally dispersed aerosols and that microbial DNA and viable cells have been detected at both low and high altitudes. In an effort to investigate how microbial patterns change with altitude two research flights were flown using NASA s C-20A Gulfstream III aircraft over the Sierra mountains in the Southern California/Nevada region over two consecutive days. During each flight the aircraft reached 40,000 ft and lowered to 30,000 ft 20,000 ft and 10,000 ft in a stair-step pattern. Bioaerosol samples were collected at each altitude for 30 minutes on gelatinous filters using the Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC). DNA was extracted from the bioaerosol sample. Whole genome sequencing was performed on the extracted DNA using an Illumina NextSeq 500.