After Blue Angels low flyover, acting Navy secretary says: 'No firings'

Source: Washington Post

July 16, 2026 at 4:44 p.m. EDT


A Blue Angels fighter jet buzzed a beach in Pensacola, Florida, during a Wednesday morning practice run, sending shrieks through a crowd of onlookers and umbrellas flying into the air. The incident, which followed two viral flyovers by military helicopters this year, prompted a review from the Blue Angels but encouragement from top Trump administration officials — and some on the Pensacola beach.

As a crowd of hundreds watched a fighter jet flying a more standard path over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, another aircraft appeared behind it, screaming low over the water. As it approached the shoreline, the F/A-18 Super Hornet banked its wings and darted over Dustin Roberts, thrilling him. He estimates the aircraft was about 90 feet above his head.

Roberts, an amateur photographer who said he has only missed one Blue Angels demonstration this season, had never seen a jet so close to the beach before. “Any closer would be something that I consider a bit more dangerous,” he said. In a statement, the Blue Angels said that the aircraft flew lower than standard profiles, ABC News reported.

By Thursday afternoon, acting Navy secretary Hung Cao said the flight debrief was complete. “No reprimands. No firings. No problem,” he posted on X. “That’s the sound of Freedom!”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/07/16/after-blue-angels-low-flyover-acting-navy-secretary-says-no-firings/