ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : From Spectacle to Tragedy

At the outset, at least, the El Toro Air Show last weekend provided traditional thrills and good entertainment, as it has for more than four decades. Sadly, on Sunday afternoon, as has happened three times in the last eight years, a plane crashed. The daring pilot of a Korean War-era jet fighter was killed when he could not pull out of a vertical loop.

The public no doubt is always aware of such a possibility, but certainly it is not so cynical as to seek satisfaction in being a witness, as if gathered for the taping of some made-for-tabloid-TV disaster. Rather, the presence of risks, together with the fervent hope and collective expectation that they will be overcome, is undoubtedly the element that provides such shows with their tangible excitement and mass appeal.

In watching an air show, we are, like witnesses to a high-wire act, bound together by our faith that all will end well. When it does not, as this time, those risks must be reassessed to see if in fact they pose a hazard that might exceed the pilot skills and aircraft technology reasonably expected in such performances.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating, as they should. One common-sense question to consider along the way is whether an early 1950s jet, even in excellent condition, is still a suitable aircraft to regularly perform demanding loops, even at the hands of an expert pilot intimately familiar with his machine.

The nearest and dearest of Florida stunt pilot James A. Gregory seemed to understand the risks that he had so willingly embraced before plunging to his death on Sunday. He was doing what he enjoyed, said his mother. Still, understanding will not bring back a lost loved one to a family, or a lost entertainer to the public.

It is impossible to remove all risk from an exhibition whose very tension arises from pushing the envelope. But still we should redouble efforts to ensure that aircraft are safe, that all pilots are skilled, that aerial performance programs are reasonable and that onlookers are protected.