A jet from the elite Thunderbirds flying team crashed shortly after performing for the Air Force Academy graduation attended by President Barack Obama.
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Obama later visited the Thunderbird pilot at Peterson to thank him for his service and express relief he had not been seriously hurt, Earnest said.
The Air Force Thunderbirds fly overhead as graduating cadets celebrate with the “hat toss” after graduation ceremonies at the 2016 class of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Thursday, June 2, 2016, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The president was in attendance to deliver the commencement address.
Alex Turner, ejected safely and is walking around unhurt, according to the US Air Force Air Combat Command.
Air Force officials said the pilot, Maj. There was no fire, but a spokesman from nearby Peterson Air Force Base said the plane was heavily damaged.
There was no obvious sign of trouble with any of the jets during the performance.
The F-16 jet went down at about 1 p.m.in Widefield, which is south of Colorado Springs, Van Winkle confirmed to Denver7.
The jet, an F-16, appeared to be largely intact. “I saw the cockpit was empty and checked for any fuel hazard – there was a single fuel leak on the right side”.
The Ocean City Air Show is scheduled for June 18-19.
We will keep you updated on Air Show details as they come into our newsroom.
No one was injured on the ground.
The group was in a diamond formation when a 4-foot-long missile rail came loose from the wing of one of their jets.
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Local media is told the pilot was able to eject from the aircraft.
