Airshows can be deadly to pilots, but up until this tragedy, safe for spectators: "John Cudahy, the president of the International Council of Air Shows, said Friday that no spectators have died at any air show in the country since 1952."
The last 2 years I went to Osh Kosh (2006 and 2008) there were two fatalities - one when a visiting pilot crashed on his way in (a lot of people fly in and camp at the air show) and another when two reno air race plans doing a race demo collided on the way in for landing. The sad part about the later crash is that it was a father and son who collided and the son was the one who died.
The president of the International Council of Air Shows made a PR-effective statement. However, looking into the history of airshows makes them look rather dangerous. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airshow_accidents)
We can look at the Reno air races as an example. It's been going on for 49 years and prior to today there were 19 deaths, none involving spectators. I've been going to the races for a lot of years though we decided not to this year, the course isn't that close to the spectators and much of it happens over open desert.
That may be true by itself but there are some eyewitness reports that actually conclude that the pilot acted in ways that greatly reduced the number of casualties. Don't be too quick to judge, it could have simply been a mechanical failure. At speeds and altitudes like that it does not take much.
That was my first thought. I believe he was only 74 though. Probably approaching the realm of spectacularly stupid. They said his medical records were all checked out, but I bet there's a higher level of scrutiny for older pilots going forward.
There's a comment further down this thread that shows four air show related fatalities in the past month.
I would think that going somewhere where you know you will be in close proximity to aircraft performing advanced stunts is one of the riskier places most people decide to go, even if the actual fatality rate is pretty low.
The other ones were deaths of participants rather than spectators though.
If there's very rarely any fatalities, or even injuries, amongst the millions of people who go to airshows every year (the attendance at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is around 800,000 every year for example, and Paris Airshow is around 350,000 people, plus the hundreds if not thousands of airshows like this one in Reno), how is it particularly risky?
It may look dangerous, but (except for very rare exceptions) it's just a fun day out.