Several indicators suggested Kuss was worn out, the report said, including his failure to sign his “A sheet” and turn on his responder before the flight, both of which were out-of-character.
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Jeff Kuss was flying too fast and too low in the moments before his F/A18-C jet tumbled out of the sky and crashed, killing him during a practice flight for the Blue Angels demonstration at the Smyrna air show in June.
The crash of a Blue Angels flight while it was preparing for an air show in Tennessee in June was a result of pilot error, a Navy report says.
The report, released Thursday, said Kuss’ jet was traveling too fast and too low as he transitioned from a high-performance climb into a Split-S maneuver, a 180-degree turn that involves inverting the aircraft and then making a half-loop to go in the opposite direction at a lower altitude.
The report sited pilot error as the cause of the crash and said weather and fatigue were contributing factors.
The pilot leaves behind a wife and two young children.
The Navy ordered a stand down after the crash, which is standard procedure. A USA official said the pilot was Kuss. The group returned to the air in Traverse City, Michigan, in early July. A memo released to The Washington Post said they include eliminating the Split-S from operations until further notice, putting in place dive recovery rules that have specific airspeed limitations, requiring the Blue Angels to use a greater safety buffer between aircraft and the ground for the remainder of the season and ordering pilots to make positive radio confirmation with instruments that measure altitude prior to takeoff.
Kuss, a native of Durango, Colorado, joined the Blue Angels in September 2014 and had accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and 175 landings on aircraft carriers, according to the Blue Angels website.
Kuss was no higher than 3,196 feet and was flying at up to 184 knots. “The net effect of these deviations was that the aircraft was simply too low and too fast to avoid impacting the ground”.
Kuss ejected from his plane but it was too late, the report said.
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This story will be updated.
