Beamer
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This kind of knee-jerk protectionism is exactly the kind of mistake we now expect from Governments, but not from intelligent (OK - assumption) professionals. In all endeavours where human beings are involved, mistakes will be made at times - LIVE WITH IT.
As you say, there have been numerous incidents in the past - therefore any thinking member of the public (if you can find one - the Government is trying to make them an endangered species) ought to know that it WILL happen again, it's a matter of when and where. As such, air shows are akin to motor racing - they are an inherently dangerous activity and those deciding to participate (and that includes spectators) should bear this in mind when attending.
It really infuriates me when people suggest that it would be right to ban something just because THEY don't want to take a risk - what right have they got to prevent others from taking whatever risks they want - NONE (and I am referring to spectators here, not performers). The sooner this kind of "wrap everyone in cotton wool" mentality disappears, the sooner people might start taking responsibility for themselves instead of waiting for uncle Tony and his cronies to do it for them.
Rant over
