After being affected by high heat on Saturday, the Frontiers in Flight Airshow at McConnell Air Force Base canceled its second day because of damage from severe storms early Sunday.
Ten people received minor injuries during the storm, and two of them were taken to a hospital. None was a spectator.
“This is extremely disappointing, as we’ve been planning for two years for this air show and looking forward to hosting our neighbors from the Air Capital and nearby communities, across Kansas and literally from the surrounding states,” chief of public affairs John Van Winkle said Sunday.
“But one thing you learn in both aviation and hosting public events is that Mother Nature always has a vote in what you plan to do. And sometimes, like today, she can ruin all your plans.”
A slow-moving storm hit the Wichita area about 6:25 a.m. bringing brief heavy rain, lightning and 50 mph wind gusts, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.
[9:30 AM Update] Scattered storms will continue through midday with the strongest storms capable of wind gusts near 50 mph, heavy rain, and frequent lightning. pic.twitter.com/qNynGkg4ZC
— NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) August 25, 2024
“Because of damage to services, we are unable to execute a safe airshow,” the base said in a news release Sunday morning.
Of the ten injured, six were military medical personnel and four were civilian vendors. All were outside on the flight line when damaging winds rolled through.
“Due to the timing of the inclement weather, spectators had not entered the event area,” Winkle said.
As of 11:32 a.m., the base was waiting for lightning to move out of the area before sending people out to assess damage, Winkle said.
Doc, Wichita’s storied B-29 Superfortress, was not damaged in the storm, according to the plane’s Facebook page.
Base personnel will detonate the show’s pyrotechnics between noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. There will be multiple detonations that will “sound louder than normal,” the base said.
“A few of the show’s aerial performances use pyrotechnics and can’t take those with them,” Winkle said. “So the safest and smartest move is for our Explosives Ordnance Disposal team to do a controlled detonation of that pyro.”
Saturday’s airshow drew a crowd of more than 65,000 people.
Saturday saw 115 people being given medical treatment and 17 taken to a local hospital, mostly for heat-related illness. The high was 98 with a heat index value of 108.
At that heat index value, a person may experience heat exhaustion, sun stroke and muscle cramps during extended time outdoors, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday is forecast to stay hot with an expected high of 98. Wichita is under a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Sunday.
