Star One Smart Blog's

From the Pensacola News Journal:

A Blue Angels F/A-18 jet crashed Saturday afternoon while performing at an air show at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. [South Carolina]

The Beaufort County Corner has confirmed that the pilot of the plane, believed to be No. 6, was killed in the crash. The No. 6 plane is piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis of Pittsfield, Mass.

This is another tradegy to cap off a week that's best forgotten.

The Blue Angels fly F-18's, the graceful, powerful twin-tail aircraft that are standard to the US Navy and Marine Corp., and can base on Aircraft Carrier or land. The Blue Angel Team pilots are best of the best, the elite of all the Navy's elite pilots.

"The Blue Angels fly F/A-18 Hornets at high speeds in close formations, and their pilots are considered the Navy’s elite. They don’t wear the traditional G-suits that most jet pilots use to avoid blacking out during maneuvers. The suits inflate around the lower body to keep blood in the brain, but which could cause a pilot to bump the control stick — a potentially deadly move when flying inches from other planes.
Instead, Blue Angels manage G-forces by tensing their abdominal muscles."

These pictures are from earlier times, and have floated around in my hard drive for several years.



Godspeed, Lieutenant Commander.