...And Here, Darn it, Are The Heartbreakers

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult task, facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aerospace community has managed to accomplish.

Alas, 2007 saw more than its fair share of downers, aviation-wise. Sure, "stuff" happens... but a few folks, issues, or entities seemed to go out of their way to create problems for the world of aviation.

So... it is ANN's annual obligation to recognize a solid dozen of our Aero-Heartbreakers for 2007... in something of an informal order, starting from 12th to the 1st. Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included, or omitted, from such a list. In the meantime, we hope those who had something to do with this year's selections think a little more positively about the welfare of this industry, so that future lists become harder and harder to catalog. Be it ignorance, arrogance or just plain incompetence, these were the folks or topics that made our lot a whole lot more difficult and immeasurably injured the aviation world in the past year.

Shame on those issues, folks or topics that made our lot so much tougher in 2007...

From the Heartbreaker's List #5: A Tough Year For Airshows

Dear Lord... what an unfortunate year for the airshow industry -- though to be honest, we're not exactly sure why it flew along on such a low note. The airshow industry experienced a far larger than normal number of accidents in 2007 -- of all manner of types and causes. We lost aerobats, military jet team members, warbird drivers, you name it... and in every case, of course, a great tragedy occurred. We lost valued members of an elite aspect of aviation who make all aviators look good to the groundhogs of the world and serve the very best interests of the aviation world every time they take flight.

The problem with 2007 is that it was an oddball year for accidents... there are few common strings in the year's tragedies and certainly nothing that suggests that the industry, overall, is not taking safety seriously. At the recently concluded 2007 ICAS Convention, it was obvious that an intense amount of soul searching was going on and that the industry, as a whole, was resolved to "somehow" do better than they had so far... but with few exceptions, no one had real answers for the kind of year we had and what solutions would have had an effect on the business, at large.

Maybe... we simply had a bad year and the statistical probabilities of this kind of high-risk flying simply piled up on us all at once.

Maybe.

I have to tell you in no uncertain terms that I believe the men, women and organizations that staff the airshow industry are some of the most safety minded people on the planet. They look long and hard for ways to fly better, safer and more consistently... they are brutally honest with each other and will not "cop out" if they see one of their own start pushing his or her luck too far. The organization that oversees the airshow industry has never been better organized or more expertly led (especially with ICAS veteran John Cudahy back at the helm). So... is it as safe as it can be... maybe not... as everyone in the business will tell you that there is always room for improvement... but it is our opinion that they are trying their damndest... and by any measure, that's pretty darned good.

We expect them to redouble their safety efforts and that's a good thing, but to be honest, we think they've been doing pretty well all along... which is as it should be. Fly safely, dear airshow friends -- and have an even safer year in 2008... please.

FMI: You Tell Us... Are Airshows As Safe As They Could Be?