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2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash

Aviation accident

Field	Value
name	2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash
Date
Type	Reduced consciousness from high acceleration
occurrence_type	Accident
Site	Near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
Fatalities	1
aircraft_type	McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
operator	United States Navy aerobatic team the Blue Angels
tail_number	162897
crew	1
survivors	0
total_fatalities	1
total_injuries	8
ground_fatalities	0
ground_injuries	8

The 2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash occurred on Saturday, April 21, 2007, when the Number 6 US Navy Blue Angels jet crashed during the final minutes of an air show at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, South Carolina. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Kevin Davis, died. Eight people were injured on the ground.

The Navy report attributed the crash to pilot error, when LCDR Davis executed a fast and tight maneuver that exposed him to much higher acceleration than usual. The high acceleration caused him to become disoriented and lose track of how close he was to the ground. In response, the Navy increased standards for Blue Angels pilots to train for high levels of acceleration.

Accident

date=June 20, 2007 }}), The Jet Stream online, USMC, April 27, 2007 print edition</ref>

Family friends identified the downed pilot as Kevin "Kojak" Davis

At approximately 4p.m., all six McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets of the Blue Angels were making their final turns into the landing pattern when Lt. Cmdr. Davis, piloting Blue Angel #6, left the pack. The plane crashed in a residential neighborhood about three miles from the Marine Corps Air Station. 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 calls.

Aftermath

The Blue Angels returned to their home base at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, to discuss continuing their season. Sunday's air show went on as planned but, in a special tribute, the GEICO Skytypers flew the missing man formation 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.

A 2008 report from the Navy stated the main cause of the crash was pilot error. In an effort to catch up to the other pilots, LCDR Davis made a sharper-than-usual turn that subjected him to forces over six times the force of gravity. The resulting loss of blood flow to the brain likely caused LCDR Davis to experience tunnel vision, become disoriented, and lose track of how close he was to the ground. Blue Angels pilots are not required to wear G-suits to compensate for high acceleration because the suit impairs movement in the cockpit; at any rate, the acceleration on LCDR Davis was too high for a G-suit to compensate for.

The Navy increased the high-g training of Blue Angels pilots to prevent future crashes. The requirements are more frequent training in centrifuges and adopt higher physical fitness standards to counteract the risk of losing consciousness.

References

(2007-04-22). "U.S. Navy "Blue Angels" jet crashes". Reuters.
Dowd, Katie. (2023-10-05). "The Blue Angels — an SF Fleet Week mainstay — have an astonishingly deadly history". [[SFGATE]].
Donahue, Patrick. (2009-01-06). "Blue Angels to retool training in wake of '07 S.C. crash". [[The Herald (Rock Hill)]].
link. (November 21, 2007 ([http://www.thejetstreamonline.com/issues/pdfs/jet042707.pdf PDF version] {{Webarchive). link. (June 20, 2007 ), The Jet Stream online, USMC, April 27, 2007 print edition)
(April 23, 2007). "Blue Angel Pilot Killed in Air Show Crash Identified". US Navy.
(2007-04-22). "Blue Angel Plane Crashes at South Carolina Air Show, Killing Pilot". [[Associated Press]].
[http://www.beaufortgazette.com/breaking_news/story/6477257p-5768379c.html Blue Angel crashes; pilot killed; eyewitness reports home caught fire] {{webarchive. link. (September 28, 2007)
(April 24, 2007 ). "Blue Angels back home to mourn pilot". Boston Herald.
(2008-01-14). "Pilot error cited in 2007 Blue Angel crash". [[Associated Press]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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