I passed by Oceana Naval Air Station today while driving home for lunch. I glanced over at the massive air field and saw a huge plume of smoke rising from the far end of the airstrip. I thought to myself, “That better not be another plane crash at an air show”.
Sure enough, it was another crash.
There are two major air shows in my city a year. Both of them military air shows with the Blue Angels. This is fantastic stuff to watch. I get to watch the week of practice before the air show, too because I live here. I live under it, actually - live and work under it. The Blue Angels pass directly over my office several times a week in the lead up to the weekend air shows.
The shows are impressive and, some would even say, patriotic. The only problem is the flying is not limited to the air field. To the contrary, in fact. Most of the flying takes place over a populated area of thousands of homes, businesses and highways.
Before anyone bombards me with stats on how safe air shows are, I get it. Air show pilots are the best, that’s why they’re flying the air shows.
Nascar, Indy Car and Formula One drivers are probably the best drivers around, too. Nobody lets them drive through an open neighborhood at 200 mph.
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