Blue Angels of Death

The six pilots perform spectacular feats of daring in the blue sky, diving from thousands of feet in their shiny blue A-4 Skyhawk fighters, twirling, somersaulting, sometimes almost dancing in tandem at more than 300 m.p.h. Most of the time the display of flying finesse comes off without a hitch. In the 39 years since the Navy's elite Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team was established, some 168 million onlookers have watched the Angels' shows, mouths agape at the sheer skill and bravery involved.

On occasion, however, something goes wrong, and a fortnight ago it did. In Niagara Falls, Lieut. Commander Robert Michael Gershon, 32, was piloting his Skyhawk through a stunt called the opposing blivot, in which two planes approach head on, then, as they come within 200 ft. of each other, go into steep climbs. At the peak of the stunt, the pilots pull out of a 6,000-ft.-high loop, point their planes downward and crisscross paths at a 45DEG angle. It was during that precisely timed climax that Gershon's plane and another A-4 collided. The pilot of the other plane ejected and parachuted to safety, but Gershon's plane went into a dive that ended in a fiery crash.

Since 1946, 21 pilots have died during Angels shows. Nonetheless, Navy officials say, the supertrained unit and its dazzling displays are valuable in attracting young and talented recruits into the Navy and Air Force. In 1985 funding for the program was $4.2 million, about half the cost of replacements for the two A-4 jets.