PENSACOLA, Fla. — A low-level flyover has sparked a safety review involving the Navy’s Blue Angels.
The Pensacola News Journal said a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet flew low over the crowded Pensacola Beach, causing a tent to collapse and sand to fly.
Several beachgoers, while surprised at how close the plane got, enjoyed the show.
I’ve been coming for 10 years and I’ve never seen a pass like that in my life," Ashley Korn told WEAR. “I literally thought we were going to be taken out by Blue Angels, but it was amazing.”
“It was huge because it was so close. All of our tents got knocked down ... It was worth it. It was awesome,” Samantha Mayne told the news station.
The Blue Angels confirmed the plane flew lower than normal and is conducting a safety review.
“During an arrival maneuver, an aircraft flew lower than standard profiles, resulting in a disturbance on the beach that affected civilian chairs and umbrellas,” the Blue Angels said in a statement to the newspaper.
“The safety of our hometown community, spectators, and our pilots is our highest priority,” the group said. “Team leadership is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the maneuver and conducting a thorough safety review to ensure all operations adhere to strict Navy and FAA safety standards.”
The military said the reviews are used to make internal suggestions to prevent similar events, the newspaper said.
In a separate incident earlier this month, four Apache helicopters also flew low over a crowd in South Carolina on the Fourth of July. The pilots were initially suspended, which the South Carolina Army National Guard said is a “routine, non-punitive safety measure” and “not a disciplinary action,” CBS News reported. The suspensions were lifted by the Pentagon within days.
In March, two AH-64 Army helicopters flew by Kid Rock’s Nashville home during a training mission. The Army suspended the pilots as well, but Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lifted the suspension, adding there would be no investigation or punishment in that case.
As for this week’s incident, Hegseth posted to social media, “The flyovers will continue until morale improves.”
The flyovers will continue until morale improves.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) July 16, 2026
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