Someone involved in the pregame festivities at the Seattle Seahawks game against the Chicago Bears on Monday night might have some explaining to do after fireworks nearly hit a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter flying over the stadium.
The incident occurred at Lumen Field in Seattle when four Army Black Hawk helicopters performed a flyover before the Seahawks’ Monday Night Football matchup against Chicago. Unfortunately, whoever coordinated the flyover with the stadium’s fireworks display had some trouble getting the timing right.
Video Shows Fireworks Exploding Dangerously Close To Army Helicopter
According to the New York Post, four UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the Army’s 2-158th Assault Helicopter Battalion participated in the flyover.
The first three helicopters flew over the stadium without any issues. The fourth? Not so much.
As the final helicopter was passing over Lumen Field, fireworks suddenly launched from the stadium and exploded right next to the aircraft.
Multiple videos captured by fans show just how close the fireworks came to the helicopter. From some of the angles, it actually looks like the fireworks hit it.
Why it happened has yet to be confirmed, but thankfully, the helicopter continued flying past the stadium without any apparent problems.
Naturally, the videos generated plenty of reactions on social media.
“Pyro guy gettin’ fired,” one fan wrote on X.
“Somebody in the control room is having the worst Monday night of their life,” another commented.
“Maybe it’s time to take a pause on aircraft flyovers at mass gatherings of sports fans sitting in open stadiums for a while?” someone else asked.
Others noted that Black Hawk helicopters are built to withstand a lot more than a fireworks display. While that is probably true, shooting fireworks at a helicopter flying over a stadium full of people still doesn’t seem like the best idea.
Scary Incident Comes Days After Deadly Helicopter Crash In Nearby Oregon
The helicopter incident in Seattle comes just days after three people were killed in a helicopter collision in Oregon.
That unrelated accident occurred near McMinnville Airport on October 29 when two helicopters collided in midair before crashing into a field. Federal investigators are still trying to determine what caused the collision.
Also, a couple of weeks ago, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson was killed during a pregame military demonstration before the UTSA-Navy college football game on October 17. Patterson, a 15-year military veteran, died after falling while rappelling from the rafters of the Alamodome, another reminder of just how dangerous pregame military displays can be when something goes wrong.
Fortunately, the Seattle incident resulted in no reported injuries or damage. As for the game itself, Chicago ended up defeating Seattle 34-17, dropping the Seahawks to 4-4.
So, between almost setting off fireworks directly into an Army helicopter and getting beaten by 17 points on national television, Seattle didn’t have the greatest night.