Originally Posted by
Australopithecus
I flew the Collings Foundation B-17 at airshows in 1985 and the possibility then of collision was our primary worry. Of course back then the shows were less well organized, and the fighters were often operated by guys with no formal military or formation flying instruction.
Any time multiple groups are flying and doing different patterns, the risk goes up when an error is made and errors are inevitably made. Groups can end up focusing on their own flight and not be aware of something going wrong elsewhere.
This accident brought back memories of just this year, where I was flying a smaller warbird in an airshow with two other aircraft that involved two separate distinct patterns, with separate flyby's, which prevents gaps in the display. We ended up on an unplanned head to head pass with the other aircraft which fortunately was recognized by the person in the aircraft I was chasing, which allowed spacing to be made.
Procedures were reviewed and changed for the next day. Interestingly, the CAA authorities, there to monitor the safety of the show, were quite satisfied with the overall show in which the incident happened.