Six elite military jets of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight team roared over Middle Tennessee on Thursday, but the cheers from fans on the ground in just hours turned to wails.
"Oh no, no, no, God bless his soul."
Pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss was killed Thursday when his jet crashed at 3:01 p.m. just off Smyrna Airport, a U.S. official told the Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kuss and five of his colleagues in matching blue jets were in the air practicing for the Great Tennessee Airshow this weekend.
The fatal crash was the first in nearly a decade involving the Navy's acrobatic performance jets, whose flights are meant to showcase pride in the military. Local and federal investigators rushed to the scene looking for the cause. The community mourned the 32-year-old pilot, husband and father of two.
The crash occurred the same day as another military performance plane, a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird, crashed near Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado after a flyover during a graduation ceremony. That pilot was not injured.
In Smyrna, Belinda McGriff and her granddaughter were walking to their home on Mingle Street after watching the acts in the airshow practice. The six-in-formation Blue Angels screamed through the cloudy but blue skies before two jets split off.
"And we seen a Blue Angel come down real low behind the trees on the other side of Sam Davis (Road), and then boom," McGriff said. "A big, big billow of fire came up.
"We could feel the heat off of it, we were that close."
Her granddaughter recorded the fireball of orange and chimney of black smoke that rose from behind a line of trees. Four of the jets screamed by the smoke. The other pilots landed safely, Navy officials said.
The video captured the horror:
"No."
"Oh guys watch out."
"Oh no, no, no, God bless his soul," McGriff's voice says.
According to the Blue Angels website, Kuss was from Durango, Colo., and graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2006. He joined the Blue Angels in September 2014 and had flown more than 1,400 hours, about 150 hours more than is required to join the elite flying team.
He had served in Afghanistan before joining the Blue Angels.
"It's hard to put into words right now, but it's beautiful that a person can live and die engaged in their life's pursuits," said his grandfather, Dolph Kuss, reached at his home in Durango. "This was his dream since he was a child, to be an aviator, a flier."
He choked back tears and said he was struggling to gather his thoughts.
"It's hard to celebrate someone's life in this way," he said. "It is certainly a shock. Everything in life has its dangers, I guess."
The crash shook the community. After nightfall, hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil for Kuss at Smyrna's Lee Victory Park.
Rick Tomlin, a Navy veteran, passed small American flags to residents. Tomlin said he broke down when he lowered his own flag at home to half-staff.
"I love these guys and watch them every time they come," he said with tears in his eyes.
"Heaven gained a true angel today."
The Navy said in statements late Thursday afternoon that the Blue Angels' F/A-18 jet was taking off from Smyrna Airport when it crashed about two miles from the runway. The Navy and Federal Aviation Administration launched investigations of the crash.
"The Navy is deeply saddened by the loss of this service member," a statement from the Naval Air Forces reads. "We extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the family of the pilot, and those he served with."
The crash site was marked by black char, yellow police tape and flashing emergency lights of first responders. Helicopters buzzed overhead.
Five aircraft of the flight demonstration squadron sat on the runway nearby.
Kuss' plane was number 6.
It went down in a field surrounded by homes and history, about 100 yards from the Civil War-era Sam Davis Home and Plantation. Smyrna Fire Chief Bill Culbertson said power lines brought down by the jet created several smaller fires.
In the aftermath, an 8-acre area around the site was closed off. The Blue Angels said they would not perform in the airshow, though the show was still scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly 66 demonstrations in 34 cities throughout the nation this year, which is the team's 70th anniversary year.
Thursday morning, the flight formation soared overtop downtown Nashville tracing the skyline with lines of white contrail.
"Love." "Very cool!" "An amazing experience," Nashvillians posted on social media.
That awe spread to Smyrna as the formation began practices there Thursday afternoon. Several Rutherford County residents said the roar of the powerful planes became routine Thursday.
Until the boom.
Monica Hosford, who works at Cutting Edge hair salon on Sam Davis Road, has lived in Smyrna for 40 years. She remembered people gathering to watch past airshows from rooftops and parking lots.
"This is very personal," she said, calling the airshow a big draw for the area.
Jennifer Elliott was in her yard watching the Blue Angels practice. She went inside and felt the explosion at their house, which is about a mile from the Smyrna Airport.
"It sounded like a car crashed into my house," she said.
"Everything shook."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff writers Aldo Amato, Mary Reeves, Holly Meyer, Joel Ebert, Dave Boucher, Adam Tamburin, Andrew Nelles, Jordan Buie, George Walker and Jason Gonzales also contributed reporting. Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.
