Blue Angels: Seafair in "holding pattern"

To perform in Seattle for Seafair, the Navy's Blue Angels need to fly superlow and superfast, with daring aerobatics. And that means every year they have to get a waiver from federal air-safety rules.

But the crash of a Blue Angels jet Saturday during an air show in South Carolina has Seafair officials awaiting official clearance before they include the aerial acrobatics show in the lineup for the celebration Aug. 3-5.

"We're in a holding pattern," said Seafair spokesman Dan Wartelle, though he added that for now they expect to go forward with the show.

The Navy says it may take at least three weeks before investigators learn why the F/A-18 Hornet piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Davis crashed into homes in Beaufort, S.C. The pilot was the 26th fatality in the 60-year history of the Blue Angels.

Once that probe concludes, the Federal Aviation Administration could decide to require modifications to the Blue Angels' show maneuvers. FAA's Renton office would issue the waiver, which must be requested 60 days before the start of Seafair, said Allen Kenitzer, an FAA spokesman.

In 1994, the FAA — spooked in part by a Hornet that apparently came to a near-stall over Lake Washington during the 1993 Seafair — ordered the Blue Angles to remove a dozen maneuvers from the show. The Navy responded by refusing to perform at Seafair for the next two years. The Blue Angels returned in 1996, but flew over Elliott Bay that year before returning to their traditional location over Lake Washington.

Unlike at many air shows, the Seafair performances are done over densely populated areas. The jets take off from Boeing Field and arc over downtown before reaching an "aerobatic box" over Lake Washington.

The Blue Angels make practice flights before Seafair and perform for an hour each day for three days. The state Transportation Department closes the Interstate 90 bridge during all flights, and in the past officials have even closed the upper deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The standard aerobatic box for the military is about 2 miles long by 3,000 feet wide.

There have been no Blue Angels accidents at Seafair since their debut in 1952.

Since Saturday's crash, no one in the neighborhood has raised the issue of the safety of the Blue Angels, said Pat Murakami, president of the Mount Baker Community Club.

In Mount Baker, the Blue Angels "used to fly so close that if they had their helmets off, I swear I could tell you their hair color," Murakami said.

But the Angels now fly higher and farther from residential areas, and the jets haven't been as loud and annoying, Murakami said.

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423