The Navy’s top official said on Thursday that there would be no consequences after a Blue Angels fighter jet buzzed a packed beach in Pensacola, Fla., this week, causing beach gear to scatter and both delighting and alarming witnesses on the ground.
“Flight debrief complete,” Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the Navy, said in a social media post accompanied by a video of the flyby. “No reprimands. No firings. No problem.”
“That’s the sound of Freedom!” Mr. Cao added.
The Blue Angels perform in demonstrations across the country to highlight the capabilities of the Navy and Marine Corps aviators. Blue Angels shows involve pilots flying group formations and solo maneuvers in six F/A-18 Super Hornets and one Marine Corps aircraft, the C-130J Super Hercules, or “Fat Albert.”
The flyby on Wednesday was a scheduled practice ahead of the Pensacola Beach Air Show this weekend, which will culminate on Saturday.
“The Blues will throw in some screaming high-rev crowd-pleasers during the morning flight,” according to a blog post describing the practice event.
On Wednesday, videos circulated on social media of a maneuver over the beach, which is near the Blue Angels’ home base in the Florida Panhandle. One jet passed well above the shore followed by a second that uprooted tents, shook beachgoers and sent towels and umbrellas flying across the beach. Many onlookers cheered and clapped.
After the videos began to circulate, the Blue Angels announced a safety review.
“During an arrival maneuver, an aircraft flew lower than standard profiles, resulting in a disturbance on the beach that affected civilian chairs and umbrellas,” according to an emailed statement first released on Wednesday. “The safety of our hometown community, spectators and our pilots is our highest priority. Team leadership is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the maneuver and conducting a thorough safety review to ensure all operations adhere to strict Navy and F.A.A. safety standards.”
Early on Thursday, and before Mr. Cao’s announcement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed to dismiss the review in a social media post.
“The flyovers will continue until morale improves,” he wrote.
Later in the day, a White House social media post with an illustration of a Blue Angels jet included the statement, “It’s okay to love America.”
There has been a familiar pattern in other recent close passes by military aviators. Each has prompted public concern and review, followed by sharp responses from the defense secretary or White House that absolved the aviators of any claim of misconduct.
Earlier this month, eight pilots were suspended by the South Carolina National Guard after a close pass above a beach there in Apache helicopters. The Defense Department promptly lifted the suspensions.
And in March, two Apache helicopters flew low over a mansion in Nashville owned by the musician Kid Rock. Mr. Hegseth shut down an investigation after that event as well.
The Blue Angels have experienced tragedy in the recent past, including the death in 2016 of a Marine Corps pilot, Capt. Jeff Kuss, 32. His jet crashed during a practice flight in Tennessee. An investigation concluded that the attempted maneuver was too fast and too low, and control of the aircraft was lost.
It is not unusual for the Blue Angels to pass close to the ground, with pilots sometimes engaging in maneuvers like a “sneak pass” that can go as low as 50 feet above ground level according to the 2026 Blue Angels Maneuvers Manual.
In its guidance for that maneuver, the manual defines maximum and minimum heights that the flights can go, with specific distances from spectators.
John Ismay contributed reporting.
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