Staff Reports
A viral fan video shows stadium fireworks exploding right as a U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk was still passing over Lumen Field during a Seahawks Monday Night Football flyover. The clip makes it look like the trailing helicopter threaded its way through a wall of pyro — and people in the stands audibly gasped. Thankfully no one was hurt and the helicopters landed, but this was a scary near-miss that should not be shrugged off as “just part of the show.”
Near-miss caught on camera
The footage — shot by several fans and spread fast on social media — shows a four-ship formation from the Army’s 2-158th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. As the last Black Hawk clears the stadium, a series of fireworks launch from the field and arc into the same airspace. From the videos it appears the pyrotechnics and the helicopter were in dangerously close proximity. No official statement from the unit, the Seahawks, or Lumen Field was widely reported when the clips first surfaced.
This was avoidable — safety rules exist
Air-show and event rules are not optional suggestions. FAA guidance, NOTAMs and air-event waivers require coordination of aircraft movements and ground effects like pyrotechnics. There’s an “air boss” job for a reason: someone is supposed to make sure fireworks don’t meet rotors. Whatever happened, the timing was off. Call it a human error, a communication failure, or plain laziness — the result is the same: soldiers and event-goers were put at risk for the sake of spectacle.
These were military aviators, not props
These UH-60Ms are real Army helicopters flown by real soldiers from the 2-158th and the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. This wasn’t a movie stunt with CGI. Helicopters have limits: rotors, downwash, and hot exhaust. Pyro fragments or misfired rockets can cause damage or force emergency maintenance. The men and women who fly those birds deserve better than to be part of a last-second fireworks flourish that almost takes their wing off.
Demand answers, inspections, and fixes
Fans love patriotism and flyovers. But patriotism should not mean lax safety. Seahawks management, Lumen Field operations, the Army public affairs for the 16th CAB, and the FAA need to explain what coordination took place and why the timing went wrong. Maintenance checks and incident reports should be shared, and procedures must be tightened to ensure this doesn’t happen again. For now, cheerleaders can keep the halftime pyrotechnics — but someone needs to be held responsible before a lucky near-miss becomes a tragic headline.
