A U. S. Navy Blue Angels pilot died today when his jet crashed during an air show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.

News reports say the F/A-18 Hornet crashed in a neighborhood near the base, scattering fire and debris. No other fatalities were reported. A video of the news conference is available here.

You can find speculation about the crash on the 'net, but the Navy hasn't released the pilot's identity. Here's the officical statement:

"From Navy Office of Information

"PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- An F/A-18A Hornet assigned to the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) crashed during the final minutes of an air show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., at approximately 4 p.m. EDT, April 21.

"The pilot did not survive.

"The pilot of the jet was joining the Delta formation for the final maneuver of the aerial demonstration when the mishap occurred. It was his second year on the team, and first year as a demonstration pilot.

"The other five Blue Angel jets were not involved in the incident and landed safely moments later.

"The crash occurred approximately three miles outside the air station in the vicinity of Pine Grove Rd. and White Pine Rd. One civilian on the ground reported minor injuries and was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Some houses in the area received damage, the extent of which is unclear at this time.

"The name of the pilot is being withheld pending the notification of the next-of-kin.

"The cause of the accident is currently under investigation."

The Blue Angels performed at the Vectren Dayton Air Show last year. (The USAF Thunderbirds and the Brazilian Air Force Smoke Squadron are scheduled here this year.) The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly at the Indianapolis Air Show in August.

The good news about Ohio’s aerospace industry is that it’s robust and creates good jobs. The bad news is that other states want it.

That’s the blog-sized gist of a report on the state of Ohio’s aerospace industry reviewed Friday afternoon at the Air Force Association’s Ohio Aerospace Conference. The conference wraps up today in the Hope Hotel and Conference Center on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The report, “A Strategy for Growing the Ohio Aerospace Industry,” (pdf file) makes these conclusions:

• Ohio has a deep and diverse pool of aerospace and defense technology and manufacturing, including two federal laboratories (Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Pat and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland,) a large number of private companies and strong university research and education programs.

•The industry employs more than 60,000 Ohioans in jobs that pay nearly twice the state’s average wage.

•Other states are making focused efforts to lure Ohio aerospace companies, threatening Ohio’s competitive position.

•Despite challenges, Ohio’s aerospace and defense industry has the capacity to seize “extraordinary opportunities” that could emerge through expanded information sharing, collaboration and networking.

•Ohio’s aerospace and defense industry needs more effective and sophisticated advocacy with federal, state and local initiatives.

The study was done in 2005, so the data’s already dated. The threat of losing business to other states couldn’t be clearer, and we’ve seen the effects. Example: UPS acquired the heavy-freight air hub operation at Dayton International Airport and then shut it down last year, moving the operation to its Louisville base. The airport’s $35 million budget took a $7 million hit in lost landing fees and federal Airport Improvement Program funds.

AFA hosted a panel to discuss the report. Panelist included State Sen. Steve Austria; Vincent Russo, former executive director of the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Pat; Michael Heil, President and CEO of the Cleveland based Ohio Aerospace Institute; Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph; former State Sen. Chuck Horn, and Thomas Krusemark, ASC’s Small Business Administration Procurement Center representative. Boiled down, here’s what they said:

•Austria: Take every opportunity to tell politicians about the opportunities and risks for Ohio’s aerospace and defense sector.

•Heil: A win for one region of Ohio doesn’t mean a loss for the others, and the regions should work together to seize opportunities for the state.

•Horn: Think regionally — beyond local and even state boundaries — to compete in the global marketplace, and focus on technology-based economic development.

•Joseph: Involve local governments.

•Krusemark: Small businesses make up a huge part of the aerospace and defense industry and have great opportunities for growth if larger businesses work with them, and the Small Business Administration offers ways to do that.

•Russo: Ohio is in “a unique position” to capitalize on a concentration of aerospace research and development unmatched anywhere in the world, but the state “still doesn’t get it.”

Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Pat, spoke earlier at the conference. Here's the Dayton Daily News story.

The Air Force Association’s Wright Memorial Chapter has lined up a panel of experts to discuss the future of Ohio’s aerospace industry Friday afternoon. The panel will be a part of the AFA’s two-day State Aerospace Conference, Convention and Education Workshop at the Hope Hotel and Conference Center on Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

The panelists include State Senator Steve Austria; Dr. Vince Russo, former executive director of the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) at Wright-Pat; Dr. Michael Heil, President and CEO of the Cleveland based, Ohio Aerospace Institute; Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph; former State Senator Chuck Horn; Thomas Krusemark, ASC’s Small Business Administration Procurement Center representative, and John McCance, AFA state president.

They’ll discuss the 2005 Ohio Aerospace and Defense Advisory Council’s report, “A Strategy for Growing the Ohio Aerospace & Defense Industry.” (pdf file.)

“This is a tremendously important topic to the State of Ohio. The aerospace industry plays a significant role in the overall state economy and per capita is nearly twice the salary of any other industry here” McCance said in a news release. “It is time that we broaden this discussion to include Federal, State, and Local elected officials in addition to industry and Air Force leadership. If we don’t address the findings in the report, we will fall even further behind states that have recognized the importance of the industry and have rallied together to better promote their interests.”

I gave an overview of the conference in a previous blog. You can download details and registration info here.

After a rainy week and an overnight threat of snow flurries, I thought my first day as a volunteer trailbuilder for Five Rivers MetroParks on Sunday would be a bust. But a dozen people showed up, and Brent Anslinger of the metroparks' Five Rivers Outdoors handed out the tools. We spent four hours keeping warm by digging dirt and chopping roots to grade a section of the future Twin Valley Backpack Trail in Germantown MetroPark.

What's it all about? The county park district is creating a recreational backpacking trail in southwestern Ohio's Montgomery County. A new stretch of trail will connect two existing loop trails in Germantown and Twin Creek MetroPark. When finished, the backpacking trail will include over 22 miles of hiking with group and backcountry camping.

I've hiked backpacking trails for more than 30 years, but just a few hours of work on Sunday taught me a lot about what goes into the construction of a durable trail that preserves nature by resisting erosion. Want to learn more? Volunteer! Here's the link.

Update 12/23/09: I recently hiked the Twin Valley Trail. I traced the route as closely as I could on Google Maps.