Maybe its time to stop these air shows

At least 7 dead after old military jet crashes at air show in England - CNN.com



Every time one happens it seems a plane crashes and either kills the pilot and folks on the ground or, either/or.

Well I managed to go to one and everyone survived

I'm watching CNN now as I'm typing this, from what I see on the video and the information supplied by the reporter. First very early and would be pure speculation for anyone to know cause of this accident. Aviation overall is the safest form of transportation overall. My military and civilian aviation career 23 years overall. I have over 800 logged hours of cockpit time in military aircraft, as a crew chief/flight engineer/ECM Operator. I am not a pilot, my knowledge of aircraft is as good as any pilot I have ever known. I worked in weapons development for five years, I only worked with the very best pilots, all "certified test pilots". Pilots and crews both military and civilian are for the most part rated and graded from first day of flight school to the last day you "strap in". We brief and debrief every time we fly. We rate each other on the performance of flight duties and our interaction with each flight position. I can only speak for two and three seat configurations. Every thirty minutes a complete check of all instruments and flight envelope is orally checked and verified by one other position (30 min. check/recorded).

Flying, control of airspace, aircraft manufacturing and maintenance, and compliance of aircraft regulations all by very professional and competent people. All with a goal of increasing the level of safety, each flight safer that the last. I know of very few industries that have the same requirements (nuclear only one I would compare it to).

With aircraft accidents always having a potential for large number of casualties. Aircraft accidents or incidents today are normally reported as "no serious Injuries" incident being investigated. Every accident and incident are investigated, some taking days or maybe a couple of months. Some take years and millions of dollars spent, this industry demands to find cause and with corrective action required. We will learn why, what and who caused this accident. A "positive corrective action" will be the outcome of this airshow and tragic loss of life Pilot and spectators.

I have many concerns today with the industry, most of those are related to "other countries". We have the safest state of aviation. Canada, England, France, Australia, Japan and USA, work together in aviation accident investigations, to make it a safer industry. Most countries like Germany, New Zealand, India have a complying industry and have signed cooperation agreements. Russia and China are actually (IMO) way behind and not in compliance with industry standards. A country like Indonesia (there are a few more), seem to think life means little, with crash after crash "everyone dead".

I hope "Airshows" never end, their fun, educate and promote the industry that has changed the world and made it a better place. A lot of industries can say that, I don't think any other has done it faster, safer and really brought the people of the world together. I worked two Airshows, taking usually two kids at a time up to set in the cockpit for ten minutes, after they waited in line, sometimes for hours. I hope I did my best job ever, with some of those kids making Aviation a career. Working those airshows also let the people that employed me (tax payer) have the opportunity to see what their hard work can do as well.