Organizers of Monroe's annual air show this weekend are especially focused on safety following the deaths of five pilots or wing walkers in U.S. air-show tragedies this year.

Monroe's Warriors and Warbirds air show expects to draw a record 100,000 - one of the largest non-military air shows on the East Coast. But before the first planes take off, city officials want to make sure they're ready for any situation.

Among the fatalities this year were two people who performed in Monroe last year, Jack "Flash" Mangan and Amanda Franklin.

Mangan, a Cornelius pilot, was killed in a crash at a West Virginia air show in September. Military pilots who witnessed it told federal investigators they saw problems with an aerobatic roll shortly before the crash.

Franklin died in May from injuries sustained in March while walking on a wing of a plane flown by her husband in Texas. The plane had caught fire and crashed during the performance.

Two pilots also died in separate accidents in Florida and Kansas City when they were unable to pull their planes out of a dive. And a wing walker died at a Michigan show while trying to move from a plane to a helicopter.

The five deaths were the most to hit the industry since 2007. The flying community also was shaken by a September crash at an air race in Reno, Nev., that killed the pilot and 10 spectators.

Monroe emergency officials reached out to their counterparts who handled the recent tragedies, air show co-organizer Pete Hovanec said, and discussed what worked in responding to the accidents.

One change Monroe made this year, he said, is better positioning for fire and police so they can respond more quickly if they are needed.

There also is a lot more emphasis on daily pilot safety briefings.

"We are doing everything in our power to ensure nothing like (the crashes) happen," Hovanec said. "And if it does happen, we are prepared to deal with it."

Despite the tragedies, air shows continue to be produced across the country, including at least eight planned for November.

"Audiences like to see people cheat death and do things most people can't do," said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. "There must be something deep within someone to do this type of thing. Every one of them knows what the risks are."

Rules born from tragedy

A 60-year-old tragedy permanently changed the air-show industry.

In 1951, a plane at a Flagler, Colo., show crashed into the crowd and killed 20 people, including 13 children. Modern regulations grew out of the crash's aftermath, and there have been no air show spectator fatalities since that time.

Air shows and air races involve different activities governed by different rules.

Races can use modified planes competing at speeds that can hit 500 mph and make sharp turns over crowds. Air show planes are not modified, and speeds top out at 200 to 220 mph. Planes do not perform over spectators and are never pointed at crowds.

At air shows, the routines are conducted within an "aerobatic box," an imaginary cube that cannot have any people in it on the ground or in the air during the performance.

There were no air-show fatalities in the United States in 2009 or last year.

In Monroe, there has never been an accident at its show. An "air boss" controls the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport airfield during the show and runs the daily safety briefings.

Richard Anderson, an aerospace engineering professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, suggested that more stringent medical standards for air-show pilots might be needed.

"There's a lot of pressure when you see 100,000 people down there (wanting you) to do something spectacular. Unfortunately, pressure can lead you to do something you don't normally do," he said. "But from a crowd standpoint, it's about as safe as you can get."

Anderson has been licensed to fly at air shows but no longer performs at them. It was too painful, he said, following the deaths at air shows or practices over the years of half a dozen friends, including his ex-wife.

Monroe show keeps growing

Attendance at the Charlotte region's only air show has steadily climbed since some friends began it as a way to honor veterans, show off vintage planes and hold an old-time hangar dance.

The city suggested transforming the gathering into a full-fledged air show, a natural evolution given Monroe's burgeoning aerospace industry.

The friends later formed a nonprofit group to produce the event. About 10,000 people attended in 2006. But as the show required more city resources, the city of Monroe decided to take it over this year, and contracted with the nonprofit to book the performers.

Monroe will spend more than $200,000 on logistics, plane appearances, fuel and other costs. The city does not expect to break even this year, but Hovanec said Monroe puts on the show for its residents and to honor veterans.

The city will honor Mangan and Franklin during a special flight formation.

Last year marked Franklin's first appearance at the Monroe show. Mangan had flown at Warriors and Warbirds for several years.

Reinforcing how the air-show community presses on through tragedy, Franklin's brother will perform in Monroe this weekend. So will Jack Mitchard, one of Mangan's partners in an aerobatic formation demonstration team. Researcher Marion Paynter contributed.