The aircraft crashed during an airshow at Beaufort, SC on 21 April 2007. The report lists 'a failure to perform proper anti-G straining maneuver, resulting in possible physiological effects contributing to loss of situational awareness.

This '84 F/A-18A was used by the USNFDS up to 21 Apr'07. During the final minutes of the air show over MCAS Beaufort (SC), the pilots were doing a maneuver which involved all 6 Hornets joining to form a Delta triangle. 162897 did not rejoin and crashed, eight people on the ground got injured and the pilot, Lt.Cmdr. Kevin "Kojak" Davis (Blue Angels #6), was killed. The mishap was caused by a failure to perform a proper Anti-G Straining Maneuver, resulting in the pilot's suffering from possible physiological effects that contributed to his loss of situational awareness of his rate of descent.