Dramatic - or dangerous? Flyover at Titans game draws scrutiny

Maybe because you didn't look.

Peepees were slapped, as it were:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/14/soldiers-involved-flying-helicopter-low-over-dc-protesters-have-been-disciplined-army-says.html

In a hostile AO or in training out in a range, sure.

Not inside city limits over a full stadium. C'mon now.

SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA I am not an expert. I have only ever been a passenger. But how is doing a slow, controlled, flyover at 40 feet more dangerous than doing it at 100 feet or 1000 feet?

It's not like they were cruising anywhere NEAR top speed, nor were they doing any maneuvers. If they had been, I could see a point regarding lack of reaction time prior to crashing. But flying straight and level? I just don't see the low altitude (with still plenty of clearance) creating an increased risk there.

But, again, I am not the expert, so I am happy to hear why I am wrong.

I know we have done AASLT demonstrations in full stadiums, and I simply cannot see this as being more dangerous.

Former Army Aviation here, the main difference is planning. For every flight there is a specific flight plan, with speeds, assembly points, entry points, holding points, TOT, and most importantly minimum altitudes.

For air assault demos, the same applies. There is an approved plan for that. Everything is taken into account. For that specific mission, in that specific place, at that specific time. It is not just cool air assault randomly coming in and dropping grunts and hauling ass. It looks that way, fast and cool alright, but planned.

FAA has minimum altitudes within cities. The specific minimum altitude for military flyovers is 1000 ft above the highest obstacle. The plan for that specific flyover specified exactly that. During the Titans game, that formation was clearly well below the FAA imposed minimum, and obviously within the envelope of the stadium itself.

So not only was that flight dramatic, but it was also dangerous, and it was done against both the military conop, their flight plan, and the FAA regulations. Sure there are exceptions for police,medical and air taxi helos, but those are again, bound by specific flight plans, approaches, etc. Both the 101st CAB and the FAA are investigating, for a reason.

SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA I had assumed that WAS the flight plan. That makes a ton of difference. And why I admit I could be wrong.

I STILL don't see it as being all that dangerous, however with that added detail I see it as SIGNIFICANTLY more dangerous than I had originally thought.