The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. The planes fly in a formation that leaves a space where one plane should be, symbolizing the person's absence. Though similar formations have occurred as early as World War I, the first flypast in the modern formation of four planes is believed to have occurred in 1931 at the funeral for Charles W. "Speed" Holman.
Missing man formations are also used in motorsport in memory of a recently deceased driver and in American football and ice hockey in memory of a recently deceased player.
Description
thumb|left|upright=1.5|Missing man formation based on [[finger-four; Flight leader (#1), lead's wingman (#2), and second element lead's wingman (#4) are present, but second element lead (#3) has departed or is not present.]]
Military
Several variants of the formation are seen. The formation most commonly used in the United States is based on the "finger-four" aircraft combat formation composed of two pairs of aircraft. The aircraft fly in a V-shape with the flight leader at the point and their wingman on their left. The second element leader and his wingman fly on the right. In all cases, the aircraft performing the pull-up, split off, or missing from the formation is honoring the person (or persons) who has died, and is representing their departure.
Sports
The formation has been practiced in multiple sports to honor a player or driver who recently died.
In motorsports, the formation is usually done during the starting pace laps before the green flag is waved. When NASCAR driver Adam Petty died in a 2000 crash at New Hampshire International Speedway, the pole position winners for that weekend's Truck and Busch Series races left their starting positions open to create the missing man formation. In 2001, the formation was performed during the pace laps of the Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham after the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 the week before. The formation was performed again by NASCAR in 2026 during the Coca-Cola 600 after Kyle Busch died from an illness days prior to the race. In IndyCar, after the death of Dan Wheldon in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas, the race was abandoned and drivers performed a five-lap, three-wide salute in his honor. A pit stop variant of the missing man formation was done in the 1991 Pit Crew Challenge by Bill Elliott's team to honor rear tire changer Mike Rich after he was killed in a pit accident at the 1990 Atlanta Journal 500: the team serviced Elliott's car as usual, but left the right rear tire unchanged.
In American football, deceased players are honored by their team in the first play of the game, where the teams take the field, leaving a spot where the player would have lined up on the play. In 2007, after the murder of Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins honored Taylor in the first play of the game against the Buffalo Bills. Ice hockey does a similar formation. After the death of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew during the 2024 offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets left Gaudreau's spot empty on the ice for the opening faceoff of the team's home opener.
In memorials
<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px" widths="180px" caption="Missing Man sculptures">
File:Randolph-air-force-base-taj-mahal.jpg |Missing Man Monument (1977) at Randolph AFB
File:US Navy 111010-N-RI844-027 The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Hatsuyuki-class destroyer JS Mineyuki (DD 124) passes near the Missing Man Formati.jpg |Missing Man Memorial (1995) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam
File:Metal Missing Man Formation raptors Memorial Park NMUSAF 25Sep09 (14596948851).jpg |Missing Man Formation (2000) at Valor Park, USAF Museum
File:Onthulling missing man memorial Air Crash Museum 40-45 op 13 september 2014 in Rijsenhout 04.JPG |Missing Man Salute (2004) at Rijsenhout
</gallery>
Permanent memorial sculptures depicting the missing man aerial formation exist at Randolph Air Force Base (Missing Man Monument, 1977, Mark Pritchett) in San Antonio, Texas, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (Missing Man Memorial, 1995) in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Valor Park (Missing Man Formation, 2000) near the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
Outside the United States, a missing man memorial was dedicated at the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum (', 2004, Leendert Verboom) near Soesterberg Air Base in the Netherlands to commemorate the 21 June 1944 crash of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator "Connie" following a bombing raid in Germany; it was moved to the museum near Rijsenhout in 2014.
See also
- Riderless horse
- Three-volley salute