If you read this blog or know me at all, you know how much I admire every man and woman who puts on a uniform and serves this country. You also know how impressed I am with the state-of-the-art technology the military provides, especially its remarkable aircraft (with the possible exception of the Osprey and the Predator and Reaper drones).
I admit I'm a bit of an airplane geek. Always have been. I love to check out these amazing flying machines up close and personal. I'm fascinated by the F/18's, which can reach speeds of up to mach 1.8 (about 1,300 miles per hour), and the F-22 Raptors and the Harrriers. The reason I'm telling you all this before I delve into the actual topic of this post is because I suspect I'm about to ruffle a few feathers.
As you've probably heard, a near-disaster was averted over the weekend when a Marine C-130 cargo plane that was part of the MCAS Miramar Air Show dropped a 75-foot refueling hose on a home in Carmel Mountain, according to the Marines. The hose, which apparently had some fuel in it (jet fuel is highly toxic and flammable), damaged the roof, but fortunately didn't crash through it, no one was injured, and the house didn't burn down. It did cause about $10,000 damage, however, and left the homeowners as well as their neighbors a little shaken up.
While there were no injuries in this accident, it got me thinking about the positive but sometimes tense relationship in San Diego between the military and its civilian neighbors. I'm proud to be a supporter of the military and happy to have them nearby. But as a husband and father, I do think about the the dangers of such high-performance aircraft flying over our heads every day, sometimes so close that it feels, as my daughter said over the weekend, like they're "landing on our roof."
I live in Tierrasanta, which is just southeast of MCAS Miramar, and when I see or hear an F/18 flying over my house I feel a curious mix of patriotism and concern. It's hard to forget what happened two years ago when a University City man lost his entire family - his wife, two young daughters and mother-in-law - when an F/18 crashed into their home as the jet approached Miramar. That accident graphically illustrates the potential dangers posed by these weapons of war that are flown over our homes, offices and schools every day.
And air shows just increase that risk. The number of disasters at air shows both in the United States and around the world is astonishing. Seems like you hear about one every few weeks. It begs the question: should air shows continue? I'm just posing the question. My feelings are mixed. Yes, they are an effective recruiting tool for the military. Yes, they are an exciting and educational show for the whole family. Yes, they are an effective way of showing where our tax dollars are going. And yes, they definitely make you proud to be an American and proud that we have such a strong and capable military, especially in this dangerous post-9/11 world.
But here's the thing: these aircraft are not built for show, they're not built for entertainment purposes. They are built for one thing: fighting wars and protecting us, not putting us in more danger. And air shows do just that. To mention another of San Diego's sacred cows, and with apologies to Sea World, putting these aircraft on display as if they're on some sort of TV variety show is kind of like putting a killer whale in a giant fish tank, then acting surprised when someone is harmed trying to teach them to jump through a hoop or look cute in front of thousands of screaming admirers.
I'm sure some of you still remember the 2004 Miramar Air Show when stunt pilot Sean DeRosier was tragically killed when his "Cabo Wabo SkyRocker" failed to pull out of a dive. Well, there have been many, many more incidents like this. Here's just something to think about next time you take your family to an air show - a partial list of air show disasters over just the past few years, provided by Wikipedia:
Even more horrific are when air show crashes result in the death of spectators. Also from Wikipedia:
