The 2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash occurred on April 21, 2007, when the Number 6

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

jet crashed during the final minutes of an air show at the

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort or MCAS Beaufort is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) air base located northwest of the central business district of Beaufort, a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. About 4,700 personnel s ...

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

. The sole fatality was the pilot,

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Kevin "Kojak" Davis. The body of the pilot and the

flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

were recovered and moved to the local coroner's office.Fox News Live: 22 April 7, 10:08 AM Live Interview Eight nearby residents were injured and millions of dollars worth of private property damage were caused by flying debris. A report was released on January 15, 2008, ending the investigation by the Navy into the crash. The report states that when LCDR Davis pulled back into a 6.8-'' g'' pull, he lost control of the aircraft due to G-force-induced Loss Of Consciousness (

G-LOC g-force induced loss of consciousness (abbreviated as G-LOC, pronounced "JEE-lock") is a term generally used in aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness occurring from excessive and sustained g-forces draining blood away from t ...

).Amos, Smith
"Report: Blue Angels pilot became disoriented"
''

Military Times Sightline Media Group, formerly Gannett Government Media and Army Times Publishing Company, is a United States company that publishes newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications about the U.S. and other militaries. The company's '' ...

'', January 16, 2008.

Accident

All six

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now p ...

s of the Blue Angels were making their final turns into the landing pattern when Lt. Cmdr. Davis, piloting Blue Angel #6, became disoriented by the G-forces of the turn. His airplane flew behind the audience and low over a tree-line, three miles away from air show center. The aircraft slid for two hundred to three hundred yards after it hit the ground. This was followed by a plume of black smoke, which Blue Angel #1 immediately began to circle while the others landed. Several rescue helicopters and local emergency vehicles went to the crash site in response to

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

calls.

Aftermath

The Blue Angels returned to their home base at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, to discuss continuing their season. Sunday's air show went on as planned but, in a special tribute, the

GEICO Skytypers The GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team was an aerobatic team that performed at airshows around the United States using six SNJ-2 World War II-era planes. The team was most recently sponsored by GEICO. The smoke system was originally controlled by a manu ...

flew the

missing man formation The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. T ...

in honor of the fallen Blue Angel. Soon after LCDR Davis’ crash, the Blue Angels began performing a five-jet demonstration. The squadron called back former Blue Angel, LCDR Craig Olson, to fill the opposing solo position. LCDR Olson had previously served with the squadron from 2003 to 2005, during which time he flew both solo positions.

References

External links

Pre-accident pictures of the aircraftReport information issued by the Pensacola JournalJAG Manual Investigation Basic Report Redacted Copy
{{Blue Angels Blue Angels South Carolina crash, 2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash, 2007 Disasters in South Carolina Accidental deaths in South Carolina Beaufort County, South Carolina Blue Angels crash Aviation accidents and incidents in South Carolina Blue Angels South Carolina crash

Accident

Aftermath

See also

References

External links