The U.S. Navy Blue Angels pilot responsible for a controversial, ultra-low-altitude swing above beachgoers in Pensacola, Florida, this week has allegedly admitted he made a mistake, despite Trump administration officials praising the risky flyby.
“He didn’t make excuses,” state Rep. Michelle Salzman, a military veteran whose district includes Pensacola, wrote on Facebook on Friday of a conversation she said she had with the pilot.
“He didn’t try to shift blame,” the Republican state lawmaker added. “He simply talked about the [sic] miscalculated a turn, something no pilot ever wants to experience, especially one who has dedicated his life to flying at the highest level of precision. More than anything, he talked about the weight he’s been carrying since that moment.”
Salzman also shared a photo of herself and the pilot, who appeared to be Lieutenant Chris Houben. The military has not publicly named who was responsible for the incident.
The Independent has contacted the Blue Angels for comment and confirmation as to whether Houben was the pilot involved in Wednesday’s flyover.
Navy Capt. Adam Bryan, commander of the Blue Angels, an elite public demonstration team, said earlier this week that the incident represented unsafe conduct.
“The pilot found himself, unfortunately, in a situation that we would deem unsafe over the beach,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“We never intend to fly over the crowd that low, and we’ll heavily debrief it to ensure that, one, we continue on with safe flight demonstrations, and that we learn from those different things that happen,” he said.
Locals claimed that Houben’s No. 3 jet had not been seen in rehearsals on Thursday and Friday for today’s main events at the Pensacola Beach Airshow, resulting in calls to “free #3” on social media.
The Wednesday low-altitude pass sent chairs and umbrellas flying, and it touched off a heated debate on social media.
Donald Trump’s administration, which has a history of clearing aviators accused of risky maneuvers in military aircraft, quickly praised the incident and said there would not be any disciplinary measures for the pilot.
“Flight debrief complete,” Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao wrote on X on Thursday. “No reprimands. No firings. No problem. That’s the sound of Freedom!”
A Pentagon spokesperson shared an image of the flyover with the caption “Carry on Patriots” while the White House published a cartoon-style, apparently AI-altered image with the tagline “It’s OK to love America.”
“The flyovers will continue until morale improves,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added in an X post of his own on Thursday.
White House allies joined in the praise.
“Can’t stand the manufactured outrage by the low-T mainstream media,” the president’s son Eric Trump wrote on X, using internet slang for low testosterone. “This was undoubtedly the highlight of these people’s day…”
Others argued the administration was putting a stamp of approval on unsafe behavior, even after it has struggled with a string of aviation disasters in office, including a 2025 crash involving a military helicopter outside of Washington that killed 67 people.
“It’s shocking to me as an aviation safety professional that the top leaders of the military would excuse this type of reckless behavior,” former National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti told The Associated Press. “A cavalier attitude like that can only lead to accidents in my view.”
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman and military veteran, praised the Blue Angels for acknowledging the risks of the flyover and criticized the White House for turning the incident into a partisan flashpoint.
“To their credit the Blue Angels admit the flyover was unsafe,” he wrote on X, slamming “non-pilot MAGAs who made this somehow a litmus test for Trump.”
The administration has intervened multiple times after military pilots were accused of unsafe public stunts.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon undid the suspension of eight South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots for a low sweep above a crowded beach during a Fourth of July event.”
“Effective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said of the move. “Carry on Patriots.”
In March, Hegseth lifted the suspension of a group of helicopter pilots who carried out a low-altitude flyby above the Tennessee home of musician Kid Rock, a major supporter of President Trump.
