...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.