This is going to be a short diary because I don't have a lot of information at this time. According to CNN, a Blue Angel Jet has crashed during a Blue Angels airshow a few miles from a training base on Paris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. There apparently is a fire on the ground. It's unclear whether anyone was killed, or what the extent of the damage is. You can read more about it here.
We have Blue Angel Airshows here in San Francisco at least twice a year. They are hideously frightening, and I have always wondered what would happen if one of the jets, which fly exceeding low over high rise buildings in the city, crashed into an office building. In fact, because we live fairly close to the Marina, where the shows generally originate, the jet formations fly very low over ours and surrounding buildings. The sound of the jets tortures animals, dogs howl, auto alarms go off, the windows shake and it basically feels like you are in the middle of a war zone. The teams have two to four hour practices for three or four days before the actual event, so we are basically in what sounds like an war zone for days at a time. It is nerve-wracking, to say the least.
CNN is reporting that this is a developing story, and facts will be unfolding as more information is known. It is unknown with what the jet made impact. It's unclear what is meant by the report that it crashed into a neighborhood.
CNN is now saying the crash was not into an area in which there were any houses. It is still now known whether the pilot was able to eject from the plane before it crashed.
UPDATE: CNN has confirmed that the pilot of the jet died in the crash.