Stunts to Be Reassessed : El Toro Air Show Will Go On Despite Crash

The commanding general of the 3rd Aircraft Wing at El Toro said Monday that the Marine Corps would reassess the stunts and performances planned at its annual air show after the crash of three Italian military jets during an aerobatic maneuver in West Germany.

While dismissing as highly unlikely the chance of a similar accident occurring at the Orange County show, Maj. Gen. Donald E.P. Miller said the tragedy nonetheless will force the Marine Corps to take another look at the yearly air spectacular to make sure all safety precautions are taken.

Next year’s El Toro air show is planned for late April or early May, he said.

“It was a tragedy beyond imagination,” Miller said of Sunday’s crash at the U.S. air base in Ramstein that took 46 lives. “Sure we have to reassess what we’re doing, but the truth is this is not something new. Almost every year in this country and in other countries, there is some kind of miscue. My heart goes out to the people who were killed and people who were injured, but this is nothing new.”

Miller said it was unlikely a similar accident could happen at El Toro because of the way the maneuvers are performed and the regulations imposed by both the military and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We never fly over the crowds like they did there (West Germany),” he said. “Everything is in front of you. We only have one maneuver, the Blue Angels, where the leader will come at the crowd. Everything else is designed like a freeway. Picture yourself sitting on one side and everything else is happening on the other side.”

There have been two recent accidents at the El Toro air show, which attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. Last year, as an estimated 350,000 watched, an F/A-18 Hornet crashed during a loop maneuver, seriously injuring the pilot but causing no other injuries.

In 1985, a World War II vintage plane flying in the air show plowed into an empty chapel on the base, killing the pilot and his passenger, both civilians.

Miller expressed remorse for the victims but said the “public demands that we continue doing this. We have got to continue. When the Blue Angels crash, they don’t stop performing. The Thunderbirds don’t stop. This is a dangerous business we are in. You take your precautions, but you go on.”

“Would we do things differently next year? Yeah, probably. We will reassess it and look at it. last year we had an accident and three years ago we had a crash into a chapel. But that doesn’t stop the American public’s desire to see it.”