A U.S. Air Force Thunderbird that crashed after a flyover rests on the ground south of the Colorado Springs, Colorado, airport Thursday.

A U.S. Air Force Thunderbird that crashed after a flyover rests on the ground south of the Colorado Springs, Colorado, airport Thursday.

Navy Blue Angels jet crashes, killing pilot; Thunderbird also crashes

  • By Kristin Hall And Lolita Baldor Associated Press
  • Thursday, June 2, 2016 4:22pm
  • Local News

SMYRNA, Tenn. — A Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet crashed Thursday near Nashville, Tennessee, killing the pilot just days before a weekend air show performance, officials said.

A U.S. official said the pilot was Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. According to his official Blue Angels biography, Kuss joined the elite acrobatics team in 2014 and accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours.

Harry Gill, the town manager in Smyrna just outside Nashville, said Thursday that the pilot was the only casualty and no civilians on the ground were hurt.

The Navy said in a news release that the pilot was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session when the crash happened. Five other F/A-18 jets landed safely moments after the crash.

“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 Marine Corps Team is with me. We will investigate this accident fully and do all we can to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Adm. John Richardson, the Navy’s top officer, said in a Facebook post.

This is the second fighter jet crash of the day for the military’s elite fighter jet performance teams. A member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in Colorado following a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation where President Barack Obama spoke. That pilot ejected safely into a field.

Kuss was a native of Durango, Colorado, and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marines in 2006. He had previously served in Afghanistan before joining the Blue Angels.

In Smyrna, retired teacher Brenda Lewis and her 21-year-old grandson had spent much of the day in her backyard near the airport watching the Blue Angels fly overhead.

She’s seen them many times before.

“But this afternoon, something made me really want to watch them,” she said. “They looked like they were having such a good time playing up there.”

She went inside to bake a chocolate pie when she heard a loud boom. She didn’t think too much of it at first because the airport is just on the other side of her tree line and she’s used to loud noises.

Then she heard sirens and went around the corner. She saw the smoke rising and police cars arriving. She went inside because she didn’t want to see any more.

“I’m always so fascinated by them, the anticipation of it all,” she said of their airshow. “Then something tragic like this happens. My heart is just broken.”

Phil Dennis, a manger at Auto Masters of Smyrna nearby, was standing on the business’ back deck with another employee watching the planes practice above.

“I’m still shaken up about it,” he said, hours after watching the plane go down.

Dennis grew up going to the airshows. His first love was aviation, he said, and when he was a kid his mother used to take him to see the planes. Now a father himself, he planned to take his own children, ages 5 and 6, to the show on Saturday morning.

He watched one plane coming out of a loop and look like it was flying too fast toward the ground. It disappeared behind a tree line, and he said his heart stopped. He said he could hear the engines roaring; then all he heard was silence.

“I was so worried. I thought maybe he’d have time to recover,” Dennis said. “But he didn’t.”

A massive fireball erupted from behind the trees.

“I felt it down my spine,” he said. “It shocked me, I paused for a minute and questioned whether it really happened. I thought it can’t be real.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Three injured after high-speed, head-on collision on Highway 522

Washington State Patrol is investigating the crash that happened before 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Fernando Espinoza salts the sidewalk along Fifth Avenue South on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Think this is cold, Snohomish County? Wait until Tuesday

Tuesday could bring dangerous wind chill during the day and an overnight low of 19 degrees

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

The Washington State Department of Licensing office is seen in 2018 in Seattle. (Sue Misao / The Herald)
Drivers licensing offices to close Feb. 14-17

Online services are also not available Feb. 10-17. The Washington State Department of Licensing said the move is necessary to upgrade software.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.