Iran Press/America: Four fighter jets in the US Navy’s aerial acrobatic team were called to an immediate “safety stand-down” on August 14 after the No. 1 and No. 3 jets made momentary contact in mid-air while practicing their “Diamond 360” maneuver.
The move, which was being rehearsed for this past weekend’s Air and Water Show 2019 in Chicago, Illinois, calls for a total of four F/A-18 Super Hornets to come into close, wing-to-canopy proximity while flying along an arc, Sputnik reported.
"They fly very, very close together. No. 3 did make contact of the underside of No. 1's wing with his [glass cockpit] canopy," Chief of Naval Air Training spokeswoman Lt. Michelle Tucker told Military.com.
Tucker clarified that in addition to the pilots being uninjured, an initial inspection of the F/A-18 Super Hornets found only a “minimal scratch” on one aircraft.
Though the jets were replaced for the air show over the weekend, the involved pilots, Capt. Eric Doyle and Lt. James Cox, still performed.
Doyle is the commanding officer of the Blue Angels and flies jet No. 1.
Aside from a number of weather-related delays, no aviation mishaps were reported from the actual Air and Water 2019 show, which was Blue Angels’ 21st performance of the year.
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