(CNN) -- A jet flying in formation with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels precision flying team crashed Saturday during an air show near Beaufort, South Carolina, authorities said.
The Beaufort County coroner's office told CNN there is one confirmed fatality.
There had been indications the pilot may have survived the crash. "I was told [the pilot] was alive, but I can't confirm that," a South Carolina state trooper speaking on condition of anonymity told CNN.
There were conflicting reports about the crash site.
According to a reporter from a local television station, the plane crashed into some homes, setting them on fire.
However, the state trooper said the crash is said to "not be around any houses." He said the highway patrol was helping the Marine Corps Air Station, which was hosting the show, by rerouting traffic in the area "so they can get the pilot out."
Several hospitals said they had received no casualties.
Eyewitness Gerald Popp said the six jets had been flying for about five minutes before one of them turned south, toward the Broad River.
"I saw him go down lower than the trees, and next I saw a big black cloud of smoke," said Popp, who lives in Beaufort.
CNN meteorologists said the weather in Beaufort, which is near Savannah, was clear today.
The last crash involving the Blue Angels was in 1999 in south Georgia. Two pilots were killed when their F/A-18 jet crashed while trying to land during a training flight.
Blue Angels crash
We've been discussing this since the minute it happened in Ventrilo Redeye. Thought you'd be there today? We were all watching the stream of the Thunderbird show in Louisiana when the breaking news came. The news media is horribly inept of relaying anything but garbage to the public when it comes to facts about the show, pilots or how they perform... nuff said about that! 
We'll find out the official word soon enough when the Navy has its press release! In the mean time, let's hope the reports of no casualties are true as some of them indicate (although it appears at least one person is dead... no word on whether it is the pilot).
Btw, they just showed footage from a nearby neighborhood and there is debris everywhere on the street...
We'll find out the official word soon enough when the Navy has its press release! In the mean time, let's hope the reports of no casualties are true as some of them indicate (although it appears at least one person is dead... no word on whether it is the pilot).
Btw, they just showed footage from a nearby neighborhood and there is debris everywhere on the street...
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LTD_Grazer
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I just herd about it from one of my m8s while I was in FA... very bad news to hear... I had to quit playing...
John Sauls, who lives near the crash site, said the planes were banking back and forth before one disappeared, and a plume of smoke shot up.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3064295
Very sad news...
John Sauls, who lives near the crash site, said the planes were banking back and forth before one disappeared, and a plume of smoke shot up.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3064295
Very sad news...
Thoughts and prayers to LCDR Kevin Davis' family.
Today...Sunday, April 22 CNN has a video showing his plane go down.
Interesting....he was cutting around to do a re-join to the delta. He just falls out of the sky into the tree line.
Could be a malfunction or could he have had a immediate health issue...heart attack, embolism...etc. ? Sad day...really.
Today...Sunday, April 22 CNN has a video showing his plane go down.
Interesting....he was cutting around to do a re-join to the delta. He just falls out of the sky into the tree line.
Could be a malfunction or could he have had a immediate health issue...heart attack, embolism...etc. ? Sad day...really.
Pointless to speculate, but these men and women are in the best shape of their lives, often compared to Olympic athletes and it would be highly unlikely that the events that took place were due to a pilot health issue. As always with aircraft accidents and mishaps, there's usually a chain of events that need to take place for something to go wrong and I'm sure this is no exception to that rule!
I agree...but nothing is ever a given.
There are plenty of olympic atheletes..and even just atheletes that have dropped over during games, practices or even just at a shopping mall. These folks are also in the best physical shape...same as these pilots. Even with a flight surgeon checking them daily...you can't forsee an aneurysm in the brain unless it is specifically scanned for a day or two before. I know...I had a friend die of one. Thre are no signs....
I'm just saying...ANYTHING is possible....
Question...is there a way I can post that video here ? It's only 3 meg.. ?
There are plenty of olympic atheletes..and even just atheletes that have dropped over during games, practices or even just at a shopping mall. These folks are also in the best physical shape...same as these pilots. Even with a flight surgeon checking them daily...you can't forsee an aneurysm in the brain unless it is specifically scanned for a day or two before. I know...I had a friend die of one. Thre are no signs....
I'm just saying...ANYTHING is possible....
Question...is there a way I can post that video here ? It's only 3 meg.. ?
Precisely, hence why speculating over what went wrong won't lead anywhere for anyone of us here... There are a million combination of factors that could have gone wrong incl. the ones you brought up, mechanical, rejoin geometry, G-LOC, physiological... and a combination of those and more several moments before the airplane went down. Only thing that's for sure is that the chain of events, whichever ones, had tragic results in the end!takeone wrote:...nothing is ever a given.
If you're referring to the CNN video, it can be found via the link already posted above, otherwise just post the link.
