EL TORO MARINE BASE : Navy Blue Angels to Descend on Air Show
The Navy Blue Angels flight team, a soaring air ballet, will return to the El Toro Air Show after a two-year absence.
Because of a Pentagon policy that prohibits the jet squad from performing at an air show two years in a row, the Blue Angels were absent from El Toro last year for the first time in a dozen seasons.
Understandably, El Toro Marine Corps Air Station officials are happy to see them return.
“The Blue Angels have been a tradition here in El Toro,” base spokesman Master Sgt. Don Long said. “They are a naval organization, as are the Marines, and we’re overjoyed to have them back.”
In their absence, the Blue Angels were replaced by the Air Force’s Thunderbirds last year. The 1993 air show, which drew more than 1 million spectators, was marred by a fiery crash that killed one pilot.
The 44th annual air show will take place April 30 and May 1. Since the El Toro base may close by 1997, it is uncertain how much longer the air show will continue, although it will likely survive beyond 1994, Marine officials said.
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