Thunderbird jet crashes after academy flyover in Colorado; Blue Angels lose plane, pilot in Tennessee
In a half-hour span Thursday afternoon, the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels elite military air demonstration teams suffered crashes while on show tours at different locations.
The Thunderbird jet that went down near Colorado Springs, Colorado, involved an Air Force F-16 flown by a pilot from Nellis Air Force Base during a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation attended by President Barack Obama.
Maj. Alex Turner, who flies the opposing-solo No. 6 red-white-and-blue jet ejected and was recovered by first responders, Thunderbirds spokeswoman Master Sgt. Chrissy Best said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama met with Turner after the crash and thanked him for his service and expressed his relief that he wasn’t seriously injured.
The other crash killed a Navy Blue Angels pilot when his F/A-18 fighter jet exploded during a practice for an air show near Nashville, Tennessee.
The crash happened near Interstate 24 just after 3 p.m. local time, killing the pilot, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. No one on the ground was hurt and no other injuries were reported.
Navy Adm. John Richardson said in a Facebook post, “My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the Blue Angels after this tragic loss. I know that the Navy and the Marine Corps team is with me. We will investigate this accident fully and do all we can to prevent similar accidents in the future.”
People near the Blue Angels crash site told The Tennessean newspaper that they heard a huge explosion and saw a massive plume of smoke when the plane went down. Jennifer Elliott, who had been watching the jets practice before going inside her house, said everything shook.
“It sounded like a car crashed into my house,” she said.
Rebecca Durand told the newspaper she thought the jet was performing a stunt when she saw its nose come straight down.
“Instead, I just saw this big orange explosion,” she said.
The Thunderbirds’ jet from Nellis crashed first at about 1 p.m. near Peterson Air Force Base after returning from its flyover at the Air Force Academy, according to Best. She said the crash occurred as the team was returning to park its planes and prepare for its next show at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Turner, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, is in his first season with the team. He served as an F-16 instructor pilot at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and has logged more than 1,200 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 270 combat hours over Libya and Iraq.
No one was hurt on the ground.
The crash’s cause is under investigation.
There have been 14 crashes or other incidents involving Thunderbird aircraft in the last 25 years.
Since the Thunderbirds team was formed in 1953, 20 pilots and 15 support personnel have been killed while performing, traveling or practicing for about 4,500 air shows in the U.S. and 60 countries.
The team, officially the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit, was activated May 25, 1953, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. While flying F-100C Super Sabres, the Thunderbirds moved to Nellis Air Force Base at the north end of the Las Vegas Valley in 1956.
The Thunderbirds’ worst operational accident was the Diamond Crash on Jan. 18, 1982, at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, the current site of Creech Air Force Base, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. All four pilots died when their aircraft struck the ground practicing a four-ship abreast loop.
The Thunderbirds are scheduled to finish their 2016 season Nov. 12-13 at Nellis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.
