List of Air Show Accidents and Incidents - 1985

1985

• July 13 – Western New York Air Show '85 (Niagara Falls International Airport, New York) – Blue Angels Aircraft 5, BuNo 155029, and 6, BuNo 154992, both Douglas A-4F Skyhawks, collided at the top of a loop, killing Lt. Cmdr. Michael Gershon. The other pilot, Lt. Andy Caputi, ejected safely with only minor injuries. One Skyhawk crashed in the airport grounds while the second fighter fell onto a nearby auto junkyard. The demonstration team resumed their show duties on July 20 at Dayton, Ohio but omitted the maneuver that resulted in the crash, and flew with five planes rather than six.
• May 5 – Lemoore Naval Air Station Air Show – Civilian stunt pilot Kirk R. McKee of Sacramento, California, stalled his AT6A "Texan" aircraft after recovering from a Reverse Cuban Eight maneuver at low altitude. The aircraft crashed in an inverted, nose down attitude and exploded.
• April 27 - An AT-6 crashed during an air show at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station when it apparently lost power, snagged a power line, smacked into the street and then slid into the chapel, killing the pilot Merrel Richard Gossman, 55, and passenger Robert G. Arrowsmith, 25. No one on the ground was hurt.