The Royal Jordanian Falcons aerobatic team was first formed in 1976, with the approval of his Majesty, the late King Hussein Bin Talal. The team began flying with two red and white painted Pitts Special-S2A aerobatic aircraft. The team later added a third plane, and, eventually a fourth and fifth aircraft in 1982.
In 1992, the “Royal Jordanian Falcons” converted to five Extra 300 aircraft and, then in 2007, to the Extra-300L model. The team only four aircraft during their displays.
On 26 July 1997, during an airshow in Ostenda, Belgium, one of the team members, Capt. Omar Bilal, crashed and died while performing a solo display. Witnesses say that Bilal, at about 5 minutes into his performance, started a loop at very low level. He apparently had insufficient height to recover from the maneuver and pulled hard in a late attempt to avoid contact with the ground. The aircraft first stalled and impacted the runway at a high angle of attack. It then caught fire and skidded into a first-aid post and another stand crowded by spectators. The weather at the time was cloudy, with wind gusting to 30 kts but the visibility and ceiling were within limits for the display. The aircraft was also apparently perfectly serviceable.
Since their creation, the “Royal Jordanian Falcons” have performed in Asia, Europe, America and Far East.
