The Blue Angels pilot who died Thursday in Tennessee, U.S. Marine Corps captain Jeff Kuss, was a close relative of recent Redlands Classic stage victor and Rally Cycling signee Sepp Kuss.
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On Friday, John Black, executive director of the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority, said the Great Tennessee Air Show would go forward.
Jeff Kuss was killed in the crash, the Navy said.
Additionally, the military branch said, all flights of the Blue Angels team have been suspended until further notice.
Capt. Kuss took Gerckens on a once-in-a-lifetime experience up in his No. 6 Blue Angels F-18 Hornet- the same jet involved in Thursday’s deadly crash.
The U.S. military and the FAA are investigating the crash. As reported by the Durango Herald, he received several decorations, including the Strike Flight Air Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Blue Angels Flight Leader and Commanding Officer Ryan Bernacchi called his teammate “truly one of the absolute finest Americans this country can produce”.
He also questioned the value of the flying teams in building goodwill with the public. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Blue Angels and their families tonight.
In a news release, Navy officials said the pilot of the F/A-18 jet was taking off around 3 p.m. when the “mishap” occurred approximately two miles from the airport runway.
Kuss joined the elite Blue Angels squadron in September 2014 after logging more than 1,400 flight hours and serving in Afghanistan, according to The Tennessean. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2006.
Air show organizers are grieving along with many pilots and Blue Angels’ family members.
He promises whether the Blue Angels are a part of it or not, the show won’t disappoint. Henley says they draw a bigger crowd with higher energy that all pilots enjoy performing for.
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Major Alex Turner had just performed a routine over crowds watching President Barack Obama’s address at the US Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs when he was forced to eject from the aircraft.
