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Navy Report: Blue Angel Crash Due To Pilot Error
September 16, 2016
Three months after the death of of Blue Angel number six in a Tennessee air show, a Navy report says the crash that killed that killed U.S. Marine Corps Captain Jeff Kuss was due to pilot error.
“Although Capt. Kuss was a highly trained and respected naval aviator, his deviations from standard operating procedures in executing the Split S maneuver resulted in a fatal loss of situational awareness,” the report stated. In the “Split S”, the plant turns toward the opposite direction from which in came after a swooping dive.
Kuss was transitioning from a High Perfermance Climb into the Split S, but he was too fast and too low.
“It is mathematically impossible to successfully execute a Split S maneuver under the parameters that Capt. Kuss flew,” the report stated.
Kuss tried to eject at the last second, but trees likely prevented that from happening, His official cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma.
The Split S maneuver will be removed the Blue Angels show.
Comments
6 Responses to “Navy Report: Blue Angel Crash Due To Pilot Error”
Very, very sad. Capt. Kuss is a hero and will always be missed. Thank you Capt Kuss for your courage, your dedication and your service.
Rest in Peace Sir.
Very, very sad. A tremendous loss to the world. Rest in Peace Sir. Thank you for everything.
Captain Kuss is a member of an elite group of individuals, a cut above, and like all military aviators they have answered the call to serve their country, their comrades in arms, and the American people by training and climbing into high performance aircraft, and push the envelope everyday in peace time and in combat.
Though a board of inquiry had to convene to determine the cause of the crash, the pilot error is most unfortunate, it could also have easily have been a catastrophic mechanical failure that day. It wasn’t and this world lost a good soul in Captain Kuss. Lessons will be learned from this tragedy, and steps will be taken in training to minimize the possibility of it happening again. Bottom line, Captain Kuss loved his job, he loved his country. With great respect Captain Kuss, Semper Fi , fair winds and following seas…
More proof that we are all human and make human mistakes. It does not deflect from Capt Kuss’ outstanding abilities
RIP Capt Kuss
Captain Kuss will remain one of our heroes forever and we will continue to pray for his family.
I realize that it is necessary to know what happened. I however feel that as a husband and father he did not intend to leave his young family. Even though the report states pilot error as the cause, we will never know what happened to cause him to do this. As a fan of the Angels, I was comforted by the rumor he knew he was going down so to protect everyone he went down with the plane to keep others safe. I still feel compassion for his family, fellow team members and all of us who will miss Capt. Kuss and Blue Angel #6. I pray his young family will find peace and comfort in knowing how much he is loved!!