A pre-game flyover at Lumen Field took a dangerous turn during the national anthem before the "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears when fireworks exploded dangerously close to a U.S. Army helicopter. The incident, captured from multiple angles and shared on social media, showed three of the four helicopters successfully clearing the stadium before the pyrotechnics began.
However, the fourth helicopter, a Black Hawk, was still in the air as the fireworks detonated around it, causing gasps from the crowd of approximately 70,000 spectators. The helicopter managed to navigate the hazardous situation and safely exited the stadium.
Social media users reacted to the close call, with one person on X (formerly Twitter) expressing concern about the coordination, writing, "That firework timing was actually dangerous af, how did they coordinate that without crashing?" Another commented, "Somebody in the control room is having the worst Monday night of their life." A fan quipped, "Fireworks are more accurate than [Sam] Darnold tonight!"
Helicopter flyovers have become a recurring feature at Lumen Field for Seahawks games. The Seahawks ultimately lost the game to the Bears 34-17.