A pilot has passed away after the plane they were flying as part of a gender reveal party crashed in San Pedro, Navolato. A disturbing video of the event was posted online and quickly went viral. It shows a small plane flying over a couple standing in front of a sign that says “Oh baby,” surrounded by pink, blue, and gold balloons. The plane releases a cloud of pink smoke as a crowd of party guests cheer.
The video goes on to show the horrifying moment when it appears that the plane’s left wing detaches from the fuselage. This sends the aircraft to a tailspin and a subsequent crash.
Authorities in Navolato confirmed to CNN en Español the pilot died in the hospital following the crash. Paramedics treated them at the crash site in San Pedro before taking him to the local hospital. Where he unfortunately passed away.
At this time the pilot’s identity has not been disclosed by authorities. And shockingly no other guests of the party were injured. Details as to what caused the wing to fail are unknown at this time.
While gender reveal parties are an old tradition for many. Typically these parties consisted of games and cutting cakes with pink or blue frosting inside. But what was once a cute way of telling friends and family what gender your baby will be assigned at birth, has become increasingly more elaborate.
This party is just the latest in a growing trend of increasingly over-the-top gender reveal parties ending in tragedy. A reveal party in Arizona in 2017 had guests shoot a target with the words “Boy” and “Girl” written on it. The target they were shooting at was packed with highly explosive tannerite. When it detonated there was a blue poof of smoke before it caught the surrounding area on fire. The fire ended up spreading to 47,000 acres of wildlife. Those responsible were ordered to pay $8 million in restitution.
Then in October 2019, an Iowa gender reveal party had a family unintentionally build a pipe bomb. When it exploded it threw shrapnel that hit and killed a grandmother standing nearby.
In 2021 a party in New Hampshire set off 80 pounds of tannerite in a rock quarry. Luckily that one didn’t result in any injuries. But the explosion cracked the foundations of some homes, and lead to several people reporting an earthquake. And those are just a few examples in a growing list of events like this ending in serious damage, injury, or death.
Begging the question, are over-the-top parties like this really worth the risk?
You can see the disturbing footage of this tragic accident here. Hopefully some will take it as a warning. Our thoughts are with the pilot’s friends and family at this difficult time.
