Blue Angels' commanding officer relieved of duty over safety concern - Polidicks

[quote]PENSACOLA, Florida -- Chief of Naval Air Training, Rear Adm. Bill Sizemore, today relieved Cmdr. Dave Koss, commanding officer of the "Blue Angels" Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron, of his duties following a lower-than-normal maneuver during the team’s last performance at the Lynchburg Regional Air Show May 22. Sizemore's action came at Koss' request, according to an announcement from Sizemore's office. Navy Lt. Kaitie Kelly, the Blue Angels spokeswoman, said the altitude problem involved 4 of the 6 F/A-18 Hornets flying a diamond formation at Sunday's air show in Lynchburg, Va. All 6 aircraft landed safely about three-fourths of the way through the scheduled performance without damage to the jets or injury to the pilots. “With deep personal regret I shared with my command today that I will be voluntarily leaving the greatest flight demonstration team. I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude,” Koss said today in a statement. “This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down. "I have the utmost respect for the Sailors and Marines of the Blue Angels organization and all that they embody. The reason this team is so successful, brings thrills to millions of fans across America, and represents the U.S. Navy so superbly is because of the absolute commitment to safety and perfection by every member of the team. "I am honored to have been a part of this organization and I look forward to watching its success in the future.” Koss will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the previous Blue Angels’ Commanding Officer, for the duration of the season. The announcement of Koss' departure comes after the Blue Angels canceled a practice and show this week at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md Sizemore said relieving Koss of his duties requires the cancellation of the Blue Angels’ scheduled performances at the Rockford Airfest June 4-5 and the Evansville Freedom Festival Air Show June 11-12. The Blue Angels will remain in Pensacola for additional training and air show demonstration practice, he said. Any potential changes to the team's future schedule are to be announced at a later date[/quote] [url="http://blog.al.com/live/2011/05/blue_angels_officer_fired.html"]Source[/url] Wow, I guess that made the C.O. rather blue. [sp]But in all seriousness, as an aviation fanatic it sucks[/sp]

That sucks. I loved going to see the Blue Angels at airshows, and now it just won't be the same..............:smith:

Perhaps they should retire the jets they are using. They are the oldest operational F-18's in the US air fleet. Upgrade them to Super Hornets. Super Hornets are larger, but generally perform a fair bit better anyways.

Lame, I never got to see a Blue Angel's air show before. The best I get is when it's graduation day at the Air Force Academy and the Thunderbirds do an air show. Also, I agree with GunFox in the sense that maybe it is time to upgrade the aircraft they use. God Speed Cmdr. Dave Koss, you will be missed! :patriot:

[QUOTE=GunFox;30084394]Perhaps they should retire the jets they are using. They are the oldest operational F-18's in the US air fleet. Upgrade them to Super Hornets. Super Hornets are larger, but generally perform a fair bit better anyways.[/QUOTE] It'd probably disappear for a year as they get used to the weight difference and how the Super Hornet maneuvers differently but its still will be bad ass when they return.

I used to live near Moffett Field when I was in grade school. The Blue Angels could occasionally be seen practicing at high altitudes overhead back before an accident forced them to exclusively practice over the desert. Moffett turned into a NASA airfield not long before I moved. As a child I thought it was awesome, though granted I didn't grasp exactly how awesome. I also enjoyed the other aircraft that constantly flew overhead. Lots of C-130's and P-3's.

As an aviation fanatic living in the Angels' hometown, this is disheartening. :smith:

[QUOTE=GunFox;30085934]I used to live near Moffett Field when I was in grade school. The Blue Angels could occasionally be seen practicing at high altitudes overhead back before an accident forced them to exclusively practice over the desert. Moffett turned into a NASA airfield not long before I moved. As a child I thought it was awesome, though granted I didn't grasp exactly how awesome. I also enjoyed the other aircraft that constantly flew overhead. Lots of C-130's and P-3's.[/QUOTE] Jealousy is welling up in me.

Make them F-22s and I would cream my pants.

I want to go to Colorado Springs for college, hope the graduation ceremonies are still awesome.

[QUOTE=Edthefirst;30092022]Make them F-22s and I would cream my pants.[/QUOTE] F-22s would be sexy, but the Navy doesn't operate any, just the Air Force. When they upgrade, they'll probably get some significantly less sexy F-35s. The Thunderbirds, however, stand a good chance of upgrading to F-22s someday. Also, I find it depressing that a fighter pilot is being relieved for being a daredevil, i.e. , acting like a fighter pilot.

[QUOTE=Alan Ninja!;30092737]Also, I find it depressing that a fighter pilot is being relieved for being a daredevil, i.e. , acting like a fighter pilot.[/QUOTE] Yeah, why should the most legendary military aerobatics team in the world care about safety

So far as I can tell, the issue is that he wasn't positioned properly relative to the diamond formation, and that can be fixed while the other two jets have the audience's attention.

Yeah, but this is kind of the price you pay for being a team of the best people in the world. If someone turns out to be good enough they have to go, even if it's sad.

That is true. I must concede that I misread/skimmed the article before. Still, it's unfortunate that his resignation affected the event schedule.

[QUOTE=Alan Ninja!;30092737]F-22s would be sexy, but the Navy doesn't operate any, just the Air Force. When they upgrade, they'll probably get some significantly less sexy F-35s. The Thunderbirds, however, stand a good chance of upgrading to F-22s someday. Also, I find it depressing that a fighter pilot is being relieved for being a daredevil, i.e. , acting like a fighter pilot.[/QUOTE] SHUSH YOU! I like me some F-35s!

I remember a couple airshows I went to that had the Blue Angels, those guys are awesome. Blue Angels video for all. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tB8Lf7YoU&feature=related[/media]

Well at least he admitted to his mistake.