A new angle on the pregame flyover at Lumen Field has added more fuel to a moment that already grabbed attention before Monday night’s Seahawks-Bears matchup.
The Bears’ 34-17 win was the game result, but the scene above the stadium before kickoff drew plenty of notice on its own. Video posted online by an X user named Scott, who says he’s an Army veteran, shows fireworks going off close to a helicopter during the formation flyover from different angles.
That footage sparked plenty of reaction from fans watching the clip. One questioned the whole practice, writing, “What’s the point of these silly a** flyovers in the first place?
Just another way to p*** away taxpayers money,” while another asked, “Maybe it’s time to take a pause on aircraft flyovers at mass gatherings of sports fans sitting in open stadiums for a while? Or maybe that’s just me,”
A third fan wrote, “The country is in turmoil and we decide to waste helicopter gas on a flying over football game for no reason🤦🏽♂️,” and another added, “Imagine being the pilot navigating a formation flyover, only to have a stadium fireworks show launch straight at your windshield. And to top it off, the home team got blown out 34-17 anyway. The guy controlling the pyro probably needs to go into witness protection,”
According to Aerospace Global News, four UH-60M Black Hawks from the Army’s 2-158th Assault Helicopter Battalion were part of the formation. The outlet said three of the helicopters cleared the stadium before the pyrotechnics went off, while the fourth remained over the field.
What happened after that is still being described differently. Aerospace Global News called it a near miss and said other video shows the helicopter continuing on without visible damage. Free Press Journal reported that it cannot be confirmed whether the fireworks struck the aircraft.
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