Navy Removes Blue Angels No. 6 Pilot Maj. Scott Laux for 'Failing to Uphold Standards'

The Navy has pulled Marine Corps Maj. Scott Laux off the Blue Angels. He was the team's No. 6 opposing solo pilot.

The Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) public affairs office announced it Friday, Nov. 6, the opening day of the team's Homecoming Air Show at Naval Air Station Pensacola. "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," the office said in a statement.

The statement gave no further explanation.

What the Navy has and hasn't said

CNATRA has not said which standards were involved. It has not said when the decision was made, and it has not said whether the removal stems from a disciplinary matter or an investigation. No disciplinary allegation and no flight-safety incident has been publicly tied to it.

Laux's photo and biography appear to have been taken off the Blue Angels' official website. Newsweek called a home phone number for Laux on Saturday and was told he was "unavailable" and referred to the Blue Angels. The magazine also asked the Navy for further comment.

A jet short at the finale

The two-day show, Nov. 6 and 7, closed the team's 80th season and marked the 200th anniversary of NAS Pensacola, the squadron's home base. The team flew five F/A-18 Super Hornets instead of six on opening day.

The missing jet matters to the choreography. Jets 1 through 4 fly the Diamond. No. 5 is the lead solo and No. 6 the opposing solo, and the two solos fly head-on passes and mirror-image maneuvers together before joining the Diamond for the six-jet Delta formation. Those paired passes need both solo jets. A local report said the routine was adjusted for five aircraft but did not say which maneuvers changed.

Because the Navy's statement bars Laux from the team's remaining performance, he was out of Saturday's finale as well.

The pilot

Laux, from Chantilly, Virginia, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in Chinese. He earned his wings in 2015 and flew F/A-18C and D Hornets with Marine squadrons. His record includes a 2020 deployment aboard the USS Nimitz and a selection to transition to the F-35C Lightning II. His now-removed team biography listed more than 1,300 flight hours and 169 carrier landings.

He joined the Blue Angels in 2024 and narrated the show in 2025. He took the No. 6 seat in 2026, the usual progression for a team pilot. In October he flew at San Francisco Fleet Week.

In July, the team's "Breakfast with the Blues" flyover at Pensacola Beach drew controversy when jets flew very low over the shoreline, scattering tents, beach chairs and umbrellas in clouds of sand. Laux defended the team's low-level displays in a later interview with Rolling with Madrina. "We appreciate the trust in support and it's our privilege to be able to perform in that way. We're gonna keep bringing the heat and continue doing it safely," he said. Neither the Navy nor anyone else has linked that episode to his removal.

Another missing profile

The Aviationist noted that the photo and biography of the team's public affairs officer, Marine Capt. Danielle Cribb, also appear to be gone from the Blue Angels website. Archived snapshots show her last on the site on Aug. 7 and absent by Oct. 16. The Aviationist said it could not verify when or why her page came down. No official statement about her status has been issued, and nothing ties it to Laux's removal.

The team at a glance

The Blue Angels' 2026 schedule called for 65 demonstrations at 32 locations between March and mid-November, according to the team's official support manual. The squadron has 158 active-duty sailors and Marines, about 100 of them enlisted maintenance and support personnel. Some 17 officers serve with the unit, and each year it typically picks three tactical jet pilots, two support officers and one Marine C-130J pilot to replace departing members.

The Navy's stated mission for the squadron is to demonstrate the "teamwork and professionalism" of Navy and Marine Corps aviation and to promote "a culture of excellence and service to country." The service has now invoked that standard to remove a pilot from the team's visible front line. It has not told the public what he did, or failed to do.

The season is over. It remains unclear what CNATRA will disclose next, including whether Laux's removal involves any review or proceeding, or how the No. 6 seat will be filled for 2027.