Pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, 32, was killed when his jet crashed just off Smyrna Airport, a US official told the Associated Press.
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The jet crashed at 3:01 p.m.in Smyrna, Georgia, according to Naval Air Forces spokeswoman Cmdr. Kast wouldn’t say whether the crash involved a Blue Angels jet or whether the person who reportedly died was the pilot or someone on the ground. No other injuries were reported.
The Blue Angels were scheduled to take part in the Great Tennessee Air Show at the weekend, but will now not participate.
The Thunderbird F-16 crashed south of Colorado Springs just after a flyover for a graduation of Air Force Academy cadets where President Barack Obama had spoken.
A native of Durango, Colo., Kuss joined the Blue Angels in September 2014 and had accumulated more than 1,400 hours of flight time.
A Navy Blue Angels fighter jet crashed during a practice session Thursday, killing the pilot in what witnesses described as an explosive vertical collision with the ground shortly after takeoff.
“It sounded like auto crashed into my house”, she said. The six jets roared over downtown Nashville earlier Thursday.
Naval Air Station Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels.
Other video and pictures of the Blue Angels crash can be seen in the news clip below.
This is the second fighter jet crash of the day for the military’s elite fighter jet performance teams.
“Instead, I just saw this big orange explosion”, she told the paper.
The Navy said the jet had taken off from the airport in Smyrna and crashed about two miles beyond the runway. “Most people don’t even get the opportunity to do what they love”.
In the day after the accident, many in the community have already come together to mourn Jeff Kuss, the 32-year-old husband and father of two.
The Blue Angels had been in the Smyrna, Tennessee, area for practice, according to the flight demonstration squadron’s Twitter account. “Everything in life has its dangers, I guess”. The Blue Angels had been preparing to hold an air show this weekend.
The pilot was up and walking around during President Obama’s visit, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. His publicist said the crash happened right in front of them, but he was not injured.
The last Blue Angels fighter jet crashed during a flight demonstration at a SC air show in 2007.
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The mission of the Blue Angels unit is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps through flight demonstrations and community outreach.
