The Blue Angels are reviewing a low-altitude pass that scattered beach gear during a Wednesday morning event in Pensacola Beach, Florida.
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels are conducting a safety review after a jet flew low over a crowd of beachgoers during a “Breakfast with the Blues” event Wednesday morning, sending chairs, umbrellas, tents and hats flying across the sand.
The incident occurred as the flight demonstration squadron kicked off Pensacola Beach Blue Angels Air Show Week.
Social media footage of the pass quickly circulated, showing the aircraft flying well below its typical altitude as stunned spectators scrambled to react.
In a statement, the Blue Angels said: “The safety of our hometown community, spectators, and our pilots is our highest priority. 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.”
Beachgoers described the moment as both alarming and thrilling.
“I’ve been coming for 10 years and I’ve never seen a pass like that in my life,” spectator Ashley Korn told WEAR News. “I literally thought we were going to be taken out by Blue Angels, but it was amazing.”
No injuries were reported. It was not immediately clear what caused the aircraft to fly below its intended altitude or whether any disciplinary action would follow the review.
Pensacola Beach, the Blue Angels’ homebase, has started its Air Show Week, which regularly draws crowds to the shoreline for both scheduled performances and informal practice flights throughout the season. The squadron did not say whether the review would affect the remainder of the week’s scheduled events.
The flyover comes less than two weeks after multiple Apache helicopter pilots were temporarily grounded after a July 4 flyover along the South Carolina coast, where helicopters flew at a low altitude over swimmers. The suspensions were quickly lifted after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth objected.