August 28, 1988: Worst Air Show Disaster in History (To That Time)

A Brief History

On August 28, 1988, an Italian precision flight team proved that aerial acts that look extremely dangerous to an audience appear that way for a reason, Because They Are!  The Italian Air Force acrobatic team known as Frecce Tricolori was flying 10 Aermacchi MB-339 (a subsonic trainer/light attack jet) at the Ramstein Air Show when 3 of the planes collided and crashed, killing all 3 pilots.

Digging Deeper

Unfortunately, the crashing planes crashed on the spectators, killing 67 of the hapless audience and injuring another 1000 people (346 seriously) as the flaming debris careened into the crowd.  Of course, this incredible carnage was the worst Air Show incident in history up to that time (until surpassed by the Sknyliv Disaster of 2002).

A single pilot managed to eject from his doomed aircraft, but was killed when he smacked into the runway before his parachute had opened.  His jet went on to strike a US Blackhawk medevac helicopter on the ground, injuring the helicopter pilot who ended up dying 3 weeks later.

Not surprisingly, the disaster scene was pandemonium and rescue efforts were hampered by US military authorities (Ramstein is a US air base in Germany) who did not at first allow German ambulance and rescue crews onto the airfield.  Also aggravating the situation was a lack of standardization between American and German emergency medical techniques and equipment.

Investigators concluded the crash to be caused by pilot error, and the only real reform to directly result concerned mass casualty coordination planning.  Air shows would continue around the world, but this and other disasters have resulted in stricter rules governing safety factors such as the altitude of acrobatic planes and not flying over the crowd.

A bit of irony relating to this incident is that the audience members that took the brunt of the debris and flames were seated in “The best seats in the house,” front and center of the viewing area.

Air show disasters have resulted in calls for the abolition of dangerous stunts by acrobatic air teams, but such shows go on.  The shows certainly are thrilling and people seem to like them.

Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What do you think?  Should acrobatic air shows continue?  Have you attended any such air shows?

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Historical Evidence

For more information, please see…

Arrow Through the Heart.  Greg James Productions, 2002.  DVD Video.