BRUNSWICK

The famed Blue Angels squadron will still be the star attraction at the Great State of Maine Airshow at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station over the 2015 Labor Day weekend, according to a spokesman for the show’s organizers. That is despite one of the Angels’ F/A-18s skidding off the icy Brunswick Executive Airport runway during a pre-show visit earlier this month.

“I believe the runway will be cleared of ice by Labor Day,” said a wry Herb Gillen, spokesman for the show’s organizer, Air Show Network.

Gillen said he hadn’t heard from the Blue Angels that there was any concern in using the runway.

The F/A-18 Hornet became stuck in a grassy area after skidding off the runway shortly after a flyby and landing at the airport.

The two-person crew flew in on the Hornet to establish relationships with those involved with the air show, and also to head into Brunswick and look at hotels and gym facilities as part of a pre-season visit.

No one was injured and the craft appeared undamaged. The jet remained at the former base until after a check by a Blue Angels crew flown in from their Florida base on a C-130 Hercules transport.

Staff from Brunswick Executive Airport had attempted to clear the runway of ice leftover from an ice storm the night before, according to Steve Levesque, director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.

Ice-melting chemicals successfully cleared the asphalt section of the runway, but failed to melt the ice on the concrete at the end of the runway, which is where the jet skidded off.

“We tested the runway, we drove up and down. We tested braking action,” Levesque said.

Notification was also sent via the Notice To Airmen “that breaking action was a little slippery,” said Levesque, but that there didn’t appear to be cause to close the airport.

It was also up to the pilots whether to land, based on the information available to them, said Levesque.

“We did the best we could,” Levesque said. “We’ve had the airport for a couple of years, and not have had any issues at all. You do the best you can do.”

Members of the Blue Angels squadron have said that using the F/A-18 is as cost-effective as using commercial aircraft, and affords the team better flexibility in their schedule.

The Blue Angels are expected to be the centerpiece of the airshow, but Gillen said additional performers may be announced within the next month.

The show was canceled by MRRA in 2013 due to the federal government’s budget sequestration. The Blue Angels had been scheduled to perform then. No show took place in 2014.

This year, MRRA has hired the Air Show Network, a division of the Umbrella Entertainment Group, to run the 2015 show.

Despite the new organizer, Gillen said the airshow will be those similar to those held in the past.

“You’ll still see a professionally run product,” Gillen said.

Tickets for the airshow are now available online at greatstateofmaineairshow.us.

Tickets for adults are $25 in advance, $30 at the gate. Children’s tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the gate. Admission is free for those under 3.