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Total two-day attendance for the weekend air show was about 29,000, topping last year’s total attendance by about 3,000. About 14,000 patrons attended Sunday’s performances, and about 15,000 showed up on Saturday. Weather conditions were ideal with clear skies and the temperature at or near 30 C both days.
“I think everyone is really pleased with the attendance this weekend, with just how the weather went, how the crowds were, how the pilots were, our performers, our volunteers, our sponsors. Everyone really came together. I really do believe crisis brings people together, and it really showed this weekend,” Engen said late Sunday afternoon.
The air show quickly became worldwide news Friday after Canadian Air Force pilot Capt. Brian Bews ejected safely from his CF-18 Hornet mere seconds before it crashed and exploded during a practise flight. Although Bews wasn’t seriously hurt, he has been in local hospital for observation since the incident.
Photos, video and news reports of the crash were picked up by news media around the world.
The publicity wasn’t necessarily bad, in this case, Engen said, because the pilot escaped virtually unscathed.
“I’d rather be known for a crash that the pilot walked away from,” he said.
Saturday’s attendance might have been even higher, he said, if not for some uncertainty which may have lingered over the possible cancellation of the show because of the crash.
Lethbridge county airport was locked down for several hours Friday immediately after the noon-hour crash. After consulting with Canadian military representatives, air show officials announced late Friday afternoon that the show would go ahead as planned.
The Department of National Defence is investigating the cause of the crash.
Although the charred wreckage of was still clearly visible on the airfield, it didn’t put a damper on the event for several first-time air show patrons who spoke to The Herald Sunday.
For Robert Caldwell, who travelled from Brooks to attend the show, the only damper, after learning Bews was alright, was waiting to hear whether the event would proceed.
When asked to pick a highlight from the show, Caldwell didn’t hesitate. “That bad boy right there,” he said, pointing at the massive C-17 Globemaster military cargo plane. “I’ve never seen anything that big.”
Meanwhile, for Bill Turner and his 10-year-old son Mason, also of Brooks, the highlight was this year’s main attraction Tora Tora Tora, which featured a re-enactment of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour.
For others like Calgary resident Todd Warnick, it was impossible to pick just one highlight.
“I kind of like it all,” he said. “I’m into radio-controlled planes, so I like the aerobatics.”