Defense Secretary Hegseth backs low-altitude Blue Angels flyover in Pensacola as Navy halts safety review

Video spreading widely on social media shows a jet from the Navy's demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, flying so low over a crowded beach in Pensacola on Wednesday that chairs and tents went flying, sand kicked up and children held their hands over their ears. The U.S. Navy said in a statement shortly afterward that it was conducting a thorough safety review. Then on Thursday morning, a host of Trump administration officials heaped praise on the maneuver. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on his personal X account that the flyovers will continue until morale improves. The Pentagon's top spokesman, Sean Parnell, wrote "Carry on Patriots" on social media alongside a photo showing a Blue Angels jet with a wingtip just feet above the heads of beachgoers. The White House tweeted a cartoon showing people on a beach taking photos of a Blue Angels jet, with the words "Freedom" and "It's okay to love America."

It is at least the third time that Hegseth and others have voiced support for military aviators performing maneuvers that have drawn public scrutiny and military investigations. In two prior cases, Hegseth's remarks led to the end of the safety investigations. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, a Trump administration political appointee, said the Navy had no problem with the flight and there would be no reprimands or firings. Cao's post said Thursday that the Blue Angels conducted a flight debrief. Navy officials would not say if that debrief, typically a routine occurrence after every flight, was the thorough safety review the Navy said it would conduct the day prior. Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety consultant who used to investigate crashes for both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, said it is shocking that the top leaders of the military would excuse this type of reckless behavior. Florida beachgoer Alexandra Belcher, 34, called the Blue Angels flyover a once-in-a-lifetime experience and said it was such a blessing to be able to witness that with everybody she was with.