- The Blue Angels fly over San Francisco as they practice for the 2006 Fleet Week show last October.
Posted on 08/14/2007 12:51:09 PM PDT by SmithL
San Francisco's skies are safe for the Blue Angels. A Board of Supervisors committee Monday rejected a measure that would have called for a permanent end to the high-flying, aerobatic show that happens yearly during Fleet Week.
The committee voted 2-1 to table the measure, authored by Supervisor Chris Daly, effectively killing it. But Daly, who cited public safety and noise concerns as his reasons for proposing the ban, promised to continue pushing it.
"We've been lucky here in San Francisco," Daly said, noting that 26 crew members have died in incidents since 1946 when the Navy formed the flight demonstration team.
In April, a Blue Angel F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed during a performance in Beaufort, S.C., killing the pilot, injuring eight people and damaging several homes.
"Think about what would happen if there was a crash in San Francisco. Obviously, there would be significant loss of life beyond losing a pilot," said Daly, who added that the crash in South Carolina prompted him to seek the ban.
But the other members of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee - supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Michela Alioto-Pier - were not convinced, saying that the measure failed to account for the economic impact of visitors who come specifically for the show and noted that no one with expertise about the risks of the event testified at the hearing.
"(The measure) is a little fly-by-night, 'let's do this because we think it might not be safe,' " said Alioto-Pier, who said she was contacted by hundreds of city residents on the issue and most wanted the Blue Angels to stay.
A spokesman for the Navy said the Federal Aviation Administration consults with the Blue Angels on every show about the potential risks of performing certain maneuvers. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
- The Blue Angels fly over San Francisco as they practice for the 2006 Fleet Week show last October.
The Blues should boycott SF...................
They were just here in Hillsboro Oregon.
The very fact that this was even up for debate is further proof that General Hummel should have been allowed to nerve gas San Francisco...
Safety my brookdale. These leftists just hate the military.
I used to live in SF in the late 80’s.
The Blue Angels and Fleet Week was an awesome thing to experience.
Contrary to popular belief , there are many patriots in the Bay area.
The crowds were always large.
I am so very, very envious!!!! I really miss watching them. Every summer they would fly in Seattle over Lake Washington, it was fantastic. Now that I am in LA I never see them. Hope you had an opportunity to enjoy their show. :-)
Daly wants to ban the Blue Angels because he is a pascifist weenie.
Frankly, if San Francisco wants to activate their aerial defenses to prevent the Blue Angels from flying overhead, they are welcome to do so.
That's exactly it.
Back in the 90's I knew an uber lib in Berkeley CA. I remember his talking about how awesome the Blue's were and how special SF was because of Fleet Week. I would bet money he's one calling to cancel the Blue's today.
Military cool went Clintoon in office, baaad when GWB in office.
Remember DiFi freaking out every year? I think the Navy was about to incorporate a new “Flying Finger” formation in her honor, before she was elected to the Senate.
The U.S. military should boycott San Francisco.
Even if the city is invaded by the Chi-coms.
I’m surprised there wasn’t a resolution to ban Fleet Week.
If you ever watch the Blues from a rooftop in SF or equivalent distance, you’ll acquire a new definition of LOUD. Unbelievably LOUD.
The Blue Angels should do a very low and fast fly-by of city hall.
Isn’t he the lunatic who said we didn’t need a military, and that local police forces could deal with terrorism?
Must be a terrible place to live. I was there in the 60’s and had a lot of fun but the Homo’s were all over the place. Never want to go back to that land of oz.
Yup. Even took my daughter up to Sacramento to see the Thunderbirds and new F-22 demos.
We’ll be out to cheer on the Blue Angels too again this year.
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