“Two of the jets in the Blue Angel Delta formation encountered unexpected wake turbulence, causing a very brief and minor contact between the aircraft,” Blue Angels spokesman Lt. Joe Hontz
While performing their formation flight with the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds this past week near Pensacola Beach, Florida, two Blue Angel F-18 Hornets clipped each other because of unexpected wake turbulence.
“Two of the jets in the Blue Angel Delta formation encountered unexpected wake turbulence, causing a very brief and minor contact between the aircraft,” Blue Angels spokesman Lt. Joe Hontz told to Navy Times.
“It is a testament to the training of the pilots that this incident remained very benign,” Hontz said. “The Blue Angels train in an environment where they fly extremely close — inches away from one another — and are fully prepared to respond and recover should minor contact occur.”
Noteworthy the jets required only minor maintenance after the contact and both pilots involved in the incident have been cleared to resume normal flight operations.
This weekend Blue Angels will perform at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort Airshow.
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andrea Perez / U.S. Navy