New Video Appears To Show Deadly Blue Angels Crash In Tennessee
Hopefully it can help to explain what went so terribly wrong.
Until now, there has been little quality video that show the events leading up to the tragic loss of Captain Mike Kuss in Blue Angel #6 on June 2. This new video was posted by what appears to be an onlooker checking out the Blue Angels practice flight from near Smryna Airport’s tower.
You can clearly see the solos departure at the beginning of the demo, with #5 executing the dirty roll and #6 executing a low transition and high performance climb, after which it comes falling back to the ground. The camera briefly breaks away to catch the four-ship diamond flying over before turning back rapidly to the massive fireball caused by the F/A-18 Hornet's impact with the ground.
The group of people watching nearby is obviously shocked by the crash, and just seconds later, there are sounds of emergency vehicles beginning to roll. Heartbreakingly, you can see #5 flying high overhead at the end of the video, just after the crash.
The video appears to be authentic, but these days you can never be certain. The only anomaly I noticed was a bit of stuttering when the jet is very small in the frame and in a low contrast area. Also, be warned there is some language that is not safe for work.
H/t to TWZ reader Southcal for sending this over.
Contact the author tyler@thedrive.com
