Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets “Scared to death” New York Residents the Day Before the Aerial Parade over Hudson River

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets “Scared to death” New York Residents the Day Before the Aerial Parade over Hudson River

By Dario Leone
Aug 23 2019
Share this article

“Anyone know why two fighter jets flew loud and low from TF Green around noon today? It literally shook my whole house, scared us half to death!” New York resident.

Few mysterious jets were spotted flying over Warwick on Aug. 21, 2019.

NBC 10 was inundated with calls, emails and social media posts about the jets, which residents said they spotted near T.F. Green Airport at about 12:15 p.m.

“Anyone know why two fighter jets flew loud and low from TF Green around noon today? It literally shook my whole house, scared us half to death!” one woman wrote on the NBC 10 News Facebook page.

Another viewer wrote that he believed he witnessed the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the airport around the same time, while a third posted a video of one of the jets on Twitter.

“Anyone know why are these fighter jets flying low and fast around Warwick today?” Mike Griffin wrote. “Training exercise?”

Other viewers said they feared the worst, including a bombing, while an NBC 10 employee said he saw “a giant military cargo plane” fly over the city at about 3 p.m. 

But the Rhode Island National Guard explained that there was nothing to panic about, as the jets were part of the Aug. 22 aerial parade above Manhattan, along the Hudson River, adding that they were just passing through Rhode Island.

The New York International Air Show noted online that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels were scheduled to arrive at New York Stewart International Airport on Wednesday around 5:30 p.m., with the F-35s slated for a 3 p.m. arrival.

“The Blue Angels will be visible in the skies over the local area prior to landing,” according to the website.

However as we have reported yesterday the six Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters were not able to participate in the fly-by but due to operational requirements.

“Due to operational requirements, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels will not be able to participate in the Hudson aerial parade on Thursday, August 22nd. However, we are excited to announce that the F-22 Raptor Demo Team will be joining the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the Royal Air Force Red Arrows and the F-35 Lightning II Demo Team for this epic aerial display of teamwork and airmanship. See you soon New York!,” the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Display Team said in a statement appeared on its Facebook page.

Noteworthy on Aug. 14, 2019 two F/A-18 Hornet fighters of the US Navy Blue Angels team brushed against each other during a training session over the skies of Pensacola in Florida but came out of the potentially fatal situation with just minor scratches. 

The Blue Angels were scheduled to demonstrate their skills at the Air and Water Show 2019 in Chicago, Illinois and were busy practicing for the same when No. 1 and No. 3 F/A-18 Super Hornets piloted by Captain Eric Doyle and Lieutenant James Cox came in contact mid-air during their “Diamond 360” maneuver.

“They fly very, very close together. No. 3 did make contact of the underside of No. 1’s wing with his (glass cockpit) canopy,” Lieutenant Michelle Tucker, the Chief of Naval Air Training spokeswoman, was quoted as saying by Military.com.

However, the Air and Water Show 2019 in Chicago was not postponed. Both Captain Doyle and Lieutenant Cox took part in the show even though the two F/A-18s which brushed against each other were replaced.

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets “Scared to death” New York Residents the Day Before the Aerial Parade over Hudson River

Photo credit: U.S. Navy


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Error: Contact form not found.


Share this article
Back to top
My Agile Privacy
This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

List of some possible advertising permissions:

You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices