The Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet crashed on June 2, about 3 p.m. killing the pilot Captain Jeff Kuss. The crash occurred right after a take off maneuver during a practice flight for The Great Tennessee Air Show at Smyrna. Aircraft crashed about 2 miles from the runway.
The upcoming airshows of Blue Angels are cancelled.
Captain Jeff Kuss flew #6 aircraft as an opposing solo. He joined the Blue Angels in September 2014 from Marine Corps..
The last fatal Blue Angels crash was on April 21, 2007, when Lieutenant Commander Kevin "Kojak" Davis died at Beauford Air Show, South Carolina. The report of the crash was released on January 15, 2008 and states that when Lieutenant Commander Davis pulled back into a 6.8G pull, he lost control of the aircraft due to G-force-induced Loss Of Consciousness.
Last month two of the Blue Angels air displays were interrupted due to foggy weather conditions.
This is the second crash within a day involving both USA military aerobatic teams and the same team position pilots. Two hours earlier a Thunderbirds #6 aircraft crashed after a flyover at Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs. Luckily, the Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Alex Turner succeeds to eject safely and unhurt.
