Air show thunders over packed Atlantic City Boardwalk, beach

Air show thunders over packed Atlantic City Boardwalk, beach
By STEVEN LEMONGELLO


Spectators watch the skies as US Air National Guard F-16's from the 177th Fighter Wing are displayed on a large display at The Pier during the Atlantic City Thunder over the Boardwalk Air Show in Atlantic City, Wednesday August 20, 2008.
Michael Ein
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GALLERY: Click here to view 2008 Atlantic City Air Show photos

The combination of good weather and a free show led to a record crowd for the sixth annual Atlantic City Air Show: Thunder over the Boardwalk.
Wednesday's show shattered the attendance records set by last year's event, with police estimating that close to 700,000 people packed the beach and Boardwalk. That's 200,000 more people than even the highest estimates for 2007's show.

Organizers had to open up previously closed sections of the beach in front of the tents and viewing stands - barely leaving room for the parachutists' landing pads - in order to make room for the huge swaths of people who made their way onto the sands.

"Our beaches were tight," said Atlantic City Beach Patrol Chief Rod Aluise. "There were heavy crowds all the way down to Albany Avenue from the center of the beach and all the way up on the north side of The Pier. The Boardwalk was packed, from the handicapped ramps all the way up over the dunes."