Obama met with the pilot to thank him for his service.
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The event was called into question when a Thunderbird jet crashed yesterday after flying over the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Maj. Alex Turner, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, had just flown over the crowd watching Obama’s commencement address Thursday afternoon when something went wrong and he was forced to ditch his plane.
The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was unharmed, according to the Air Force official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Michael Kennedy, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels help servicemen and women share their pride with the public.
Early reports say that the cause of the crash may have been engine failure.
The pilot, whose name was not released, ejected safely and was picked up by emergency response crews, the Air Force said.
Authorities say no one on the ground was injured.
Peter Turner, his father and an Air Force veteran, said he wasn’t surprised Major Turner was able to parachute to safety.
Turner has logged over 1,500 hours in the F-16 but this was his first show season with the team, according to Lt. Col. Christopher Hammond with the Thunderbirds. Blue Angels pilot and Durango native Captain Jeff Kuss died when his jet crashed in Tennessee.
Of the 812 Air Force Academy graduates, 345 are going on to train as pilots, the Air Force said.
“I’m going advanced for pilot training, hopefully I’ll get to do what the Thunderbirds do”, said another graduate.
“What I heard was a big boom”, Payne said.
President Barack Obama was about 15 miles away from where an Air Force Thunderbird jet crashed after an Air Force Academy graduation.
“I was (deployed) out on an aircraft carrier”.
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However, there has been no change to their scheduled performance at the Rhode Island National Guard Open House on June 11-12 or for their performance at the OC Air Show on June 18-19.
