The Ramstein air show disaster

At the Ramstein airshow in 1988, the Italian air squad Frecce Tricolori attempted a maneuver called the "pierced heart" — a solo pilot intersects the course of five other jets flying directly towards each other at 600 kilometers-per-hour (370 miles-per-hour). The attempt failed disastrously as three planes collided in the air.

After the collision, the plane crashed into the runway, sending its fuselage and a resulting fireball of jet fuel hurtling towards the crowd of 300,000 people. One of the other planes crashed beside the runway and the pilot died on impact. The third crashed into a medical helicopter — the pilot ejected but was killed on the runway before his parachute deployed.

The plane crash killed 70 people (including the three pilots) and injured 1,500 others. The deceased are honored at a memorial outside of the airbase in Ramstein. Those mutilated by the debris or disfigured due to third-degree burns were only financially compensated after years of legal battles with authorities.

The overall legal response to the disaster was underwhelming for many victims. The lead attorney responsible threw in the towel because, according to NATO rules, Italian authorities were responsible.

One year into its probe, the German parliament's Ramstein committee of inquiry was split into two factions that could not be reconciled: The Social Democrats (SPD) and a faction of Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Free Democrats (FDP). The committee issued two final reports, with the SPD saying the disaster was avoidable and the CDU/CSU and FDP saying the Italian pilot had fallen unconscious.

Immediately after the disaster, Bundestag politicians were unanimous in barring all airshows in Germany. It didn't take long for that mindset to change, with some arguing that tax payers had a right to see their country's armed forces. Germany has held numerous air shows since the 1990s.

A memorial service marked the 30th anniversary of the airshow disaster. In attendance was Malu Dreyer, Rhineland Palatinate's state premier. "We cannot undo what happened, but we can remember, stand together and support each other," she said.