Shortly before the Navy retired the F-14 Tomcat, the venerable fighter jet made a final appearance in a flyover of PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Flyovers are always a tremendously unique event. The crowd is already amped up for the start of a game. The Star Spangled Banner plays and then it happens. Aircraft buzz the crowd as part of a grand finale. It’s about as American as it gets. In the past, there were some very low and aggressive flybys at sporting events. The Blue Angels routinely wow crowds with their sneak passes in the F/A-18. We’ve even chronicled some of them. While impressive, they led to some disciplinary action and even ended some flying careers.
Today, there are many more rules about flyovers though. Most occur at least 1,000 feet AGL (above ground level). While every flyover is impressive, the ones today are noticeably more muted and less heart pounding as they are well above the crowds.
The Reaction To This F-14 Flyover Makes This Video Totally Worth It
The video took place back in 2006 at the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, before many of these rules were in place and/or in force. In the video, you’ll see two F-14s roar past overhead at less than 500 feet. The fan videoing the impromptu air show yells, “Those are -14s, dude! Tomcats! Swept-back!” He and the rest of the crowd saw something we will never again see in our lifetime. The F-14 Tomcat was retired shortly after the flyby.
Today, only Iran operates a small fleet of aging Tomcats. They keep the fleet flying by cannibalizing jets from their fleet purchased before the Iranian revolution in the late 1970s.
