A Blue Angels pilot has been removed from the Navy flight demonstration team for “failing to uphold” its standards, leaving the squadron to perform with five jets Friday.
The decision came months after a controversial low flyover over Pensacola Beach in July sent debris across the shoreline and renewed questions about public safety.
Maj. Scott Laux, a second-year member of the elite team, served as Blue Angel No. 6. The Chief of Naval Air Training confirmed his removal to the Pensacola News Journal, saying the decision was announced Friday ahead of the team’s season finale in Pensacola.
Blue Angels No. 6 opposing solo Maj. Scott Laux, USMC, answers questions from reporters at NAS Pensacola on July 16, 2026, following the controversial low flyover over the beach.
“Blue Angel #6 was removed from the team for failing to uphold the standards expected of members of the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron and will not participate in the team’s remaining performance this season,” CNATRA’s public affairs office said in a statement Friday.
The outlet requested additional information Sunday morning but had not received a response.
Laux had previously defended the Blue Angels’ low-flying demonstrations after the July flyover over Pensacola Beach sent tents, beach chairs and umbrellas tumbling as sand blew across the shoreline.
“We appreciate the trust in support and it’s our privilege to be able to perform in that way,” Laux told Rolling with Madrina after the incident. “We’re gonna keep bringing the heat and continue doing it safely.”
Maj. Scott Laux spent his first year as a narrator and most of his second year with the Blue Angels as opposing solo No. 6 before being left out of the team’s final performance this weekend. (Getty Images)
Senior Navy and War Department officials had previously stood behind the low flyovers.
“Flight debrief complete. No reprimands. No firings. No problem,” Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao wrote on X in July. “That’s the sound of Freedom! Semper fi and Hooyah.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth also promised continued support.
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“The flyovers will continue until morale improves,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The White House shared a photo meme of the disputed flyover through its official X account.
“It’s okay to love America,” the post said.
Marine Corps Maj. Scott Laux publicly defended the July low flyover over the beach, but he was notably absent from the Blue Angels’ final performance of the season. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
The Navy has not disclosed when Laux was dismissed or what conduct led to the decision. His photograph and biography have also been removed from the Blue Angels’ team page, although his biography remained accessible on the website as of Sunday morning.
Laux did not take part in the squadron’s NAS Pensacola Homecoming Air Show on Friday and Saturday. The team performed with five jets rather than its customary six. As the opposing solo, Laux typically flies alongside lead solo No. 5 during head-on crossing passes and mirror-image maneuvers, filling the transitions between the four-jet Diamond formation’s routines.
Reports indicated that the performance sequence was modified to account for the missing aircraft.
The 2026 narrator, Lt. Commander Ronny Hafeza, could replace Laux on the 2027 team. Blue Angels officers serve three-year assignments, including one year as a narrator, the role Laux held before becoming No. 6.
Laux, who is from Chantilly, Virginia, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2012 with a degree in Chinese and earned his wings in 2015, according to his biography. He flew F/A-18 Hornets with Marine Corps squadrons, deployed to Japan and aboard the USS Nimitz, and supported three operations during a 2020 carrier deployment: Resolute Support, Inherent Resolve and Octave Quartz.
He later transitioned to the F-35C Lightning II and served as an instructor pilot before joining the Blue Angels in September 2024. Before taking on the role of Blue Angels No. 6, he was the team’s narrator.
Laux has logged more than 1,300 flight hours and 169 aircraft carrier landings. His decorations include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, along with multiple unit awards.
