SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Nick Allard describes passing out during his Blue Angels flight

Aug 4, 2018, 6:00 AM

Blue Angels...

The Blue Angels. (AP)

(AP)

KIRO 7 meteorologist Nick Allard got the thrill of his life when he spent 45 minutes flying upside-down and spinning through the air as a media guest with the Blue Angels.

As documented in a video on his Facebook page, Allard got to go up with the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron as part of its Seafair practice on Thursday.

Allard thought getting a firsthand look at the Blue Angels was incredibly fun and exciting, but was less impressed with his own performance. Due to the lack of blood flow to the brain, it is common to pass out when “pulling Gs” — and Allard was no exception.

RELATED: Blue Angels aren’t just stopping traffic on I-90 bridge

However, he was happy with himself for being able to point out to the pilot the moment when he was about to black out.

“We got to about 6.5 Gs and my proudest moment was, you could see the curtains closing in,” Allard told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “I was going out and I told the guy.”

The episode of unconsciousness was fast, however; Allard woke up a moment later, somewhat confused.

“I didn’t know where I was when I woke up,” Allard said. “The first thing I thought was, ‘It’s really bright in here.'”

What set in next was the nausea, as “breakfast went bye-bye.”

“I can do any thrill ride in the world, I love huge drops, I love roller coasters, but if you put me on the swings at the Puyallup Fair, I will throw up,” he said. “I can’t do anything in a circle, I just can’t.”

At this point, Allard gave up the chance to experience a break maneuver in favor of being back on the ground.

“I was nauseous the entire day afterwards,” he laughed.

He noted, however, in “a little piece of non-scientific, non-medical advice that no child should ever listen to” that having a beer at about 5 p.m. cured his nausea.

United Airlines...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘I hate it’: Jake questions inheritance taxes after United Airlines CEO’s near 100% proposal

KIRO Newsradio host Jake Skorheim challenged United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby’s call for inheritance taxes approaching 100% at some level.

20 minutes ago

In this photo taken with a phone, golden larches glow in the sunlight in Okanogan-Wenatchee Nationa...

Associated Press

Agriculture secretary says agency is “full-bore ahead” on Forest Service reorganization

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the Trump administration remains “full-bore ahead” with a sweeping reorganization of the Forest Service and other agencies after a judge blocked the changes last week. The administration wants to move Forest Service headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City, shutter 23 research stations, and […]

36 minutes ago

This photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows Christa Pike on Jan. 12, 2023. ...

Associated Press

Execution staff worried IV site might have ‘blown’ during Christa Pike’s execution attempt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee execution team members failed multiple times to establish working IV lines in Christa Pike’s arms before her attempted execution, and warned that some of her veins may have ruptured, or “blown,” before she was injected with pentobarbital, her attorney wrote in a court document. The IV team went through about […]

49 minutes ago

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a roundtable event with President Donald Trump in the East...

Associated Press

New Pentagon directive bans troops from using nonpublic info to bet in prediction markets

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a new directive telling troops they cannot use “nonpublic information” to make bets on prediction markets. “Our enemies watch movements in these markets,” Hegseth wrote in a memo dated Tuesday and reviewed by The Associated Press. “When an American Service member, intelligence professional, or other Department […]

49 minutes ago

In this image provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Calley Means, senior advisor for the ...

Associated Press

MAHA’s Calley Means resigns as a top RFK Jr. health adviser days before the midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calley Means, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a chief advocate for the Make America Healthy Again movement, resigned from his Trump administration role Thursday just days ahead of the midterm elections. In a statement, Means said he “leaves with tremendous respect” for President Donald Trump and […]

54 minutes ago

FILE - An Airbnb logo is displayed at an event in San Francisco on Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Ri...

Associated Press

Airbnb guests no longer have to wash the dishes or strip the beds at checkout

Airbnb guests can say goodbye to checkout chores like washing dishes, stripping beds and taking out the trash under a new policy announced this week. The short-term rental platform’s new rules limit hosts to “reasonable” checkout requests beginning on Nov. 20. Guests can still be asked to leave dishes in the sink, gather used towels […]

57 minutes ago

Nick Allard describes passing out during his Blue Angels flight