The U.S. Navy Blue Angels performance team practiced over Fort Lauderdale beach in 2025. File Photo By Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
The U.S. Navy Acting Secretary Hung Cao blew off criticism of an unusually low-altitude flyover at Pensacola Beach this week.
“No reprimands. No firings. No problem,” Cao posted on X and Instagram on Thursday. “That’s the sound of Freedom! Semper fi and Hooyah.”
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A post shared by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao (@secnav)
The flyover sent tents and umbrellas flying on the beach during the annual “Breakfast with the Blues” air show. Some videos showed sand kicked up into the air, beach chairs flying and some beachgoers scrambling for cover.
The flyover “involved the disruption of several tents and blankets on the beachfront,” but there were no injuries reported, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.
“I was on the beach during yesterday morning’s flyover and joined thousands of others in cheering on the precision and power of the Blue Angels’ Demonstration Team,” Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a statement. “Anyone describing this maneuver to be anything other than a spectacular and powerful moment of national pride is off base. We are proud of our Blue Angels!”
Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense, posted on X: “The flyovers will continue until morale improves.”
The White House posted an animation of the event that said, “It’s okay to love America.”
But Blue Angels leadership said it was reviewing the show and the unusually low altitude. The Blue Angels are based in Pensacola.
“The safety of our hometown community, spectators and our pilots is our highest priority,” a Blue Angels spokesperson said in a statement to WEAR News. “Team leadership is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the maneuver and conducting a thorough safety review to ensure all operations adhere to strict Navy and FAA safety standards.”
Pilots are typically required to stay 500 feet above people on the ground, John “JV” Venable, a retired colonel who commanded the Thunderbirds demonstration squadron, told The Washington Post. The standards are more flexible during air shows, he said.
Nobody on the beach was likely in danger when the Super Hornet flew over them because Blue Angels pilots are very highly trained, he said. But it calls for investigation.
“I would come back in and have words with that individual,” Venable told The Post. “I would … say, ‘Hey, you need to bump up your altitudes. You need to be more cognizant of where you are.'”
