Watch Blue Angels fly low over crowded beach

The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels launched a safety review after a video showed one of its jets making an unusually low pass over a crowded Florida beach during the “Breakfast with the Blues” event. The incident occurred Wednesday, July 15 at Pensacola Beach, ahead of the team’s weekend air show. Local reporting by the Pensacola News Journal said sand, chairs, and umbrellas were disturbed as one of the team’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets flew low over the shoreline before banking away over the Gulf. The squadron later acknowledged that an aircraft arrived lower than standard profiles, affecting civilian beach items. In its statement, the team said leadership initiated a thorough safety review to ensure operations comply with U.S. Navy and FAA safety standards. The arrival flyover is said to provide reference points for the weekend demonstrations, and routine internal safety reviews are not automatically disciplinary. The review also drew broader attention after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referenced viral footage on X on July 16.