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Blue Angels plane crashes hours after Thunderbirds crash, pilot killed

An official in Tennessee says a pilot was killed when his Blue Angels fighter jet crashed, but no civilians were hurt on the ground.
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The Latest on two separate crashes involving planes with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels (all times local):

9:57 p.m EST

An official in Tennessee says a pilot was killed when his Blue Angels fighter jet crashed, but no civilians were hurt on the ground.
    
Harry Gill, the town manager in Smyrna just outside Nashville, said Thursday that the pilot was the only casualty. Some power outages were caused by the crash, but no civilians were hurt.
    
A U.S. official says the pilot was identified as Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Navy says the pilot was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session when the crash happened. Five other F/A-18 jets landed safely moments later.
    
The elite acrobatics team was scheduled to perform at an air show this weekend.

5:15 p.m.
    
A U.S. official says the pilot of a Blue Angels jet did not eject when the aircraft crashed in Tennessee and likely was killed.
    
The official spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
    
The Navy says the pilot was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session when the crash happened. The pilot is not being identified until next of kin are notified. Five other F/A-18 jets landed safely moments later.
    
The Navy says it is investigating.
    
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4:05 p.m.
    
A Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet crashed Thursday near Nashville, Tennessee, where the team is scheduled to perform at an air show this weekend, the Navy said.
    
There are no details yet on whether the pilot was injured in the crash. The Blue Angels were practicing for the show.
    
This is the second fighter jet crash of the day for the military's elite fighter jet performance teams. A member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in Colorado following a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation where President Barack Obama spoke. That pilot ejected safely into a field.
    
People near the crash site told The Tennessean newspaper that they heard a huge explosion and saw a massive plume of smoke when the plane went down. Jennifer Elliott, who had been watching the jets practice before going inside her house, said everything shook.
    
"It sounded like car crashed into my house," she said.
    
Rebecca Durand told the newspaper she thought the jet was performing a stunt when she saw its nose come straight down.
    
"Instead, I just saw this big orange explosion," she said.

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2:40 p.m.

A Navy Blue Angels jet has reportedly crashed during training outside Nashville.

WSMV-TV and other media outlets report the plane crashed during practice for this weekend's Great Tennessee Airshow in Smyrna. 

There was no immediate word on injuries.

An eyewitness shared video allegedly showing the Blue Angels crash on social media.

Earlier Thursday, a plane flying with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in a field shortly after flying over commencement ceremonies at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

President Barack Obama had delivered the address at the ceremony.

____  

2:20 p.m.
    
President Barack Obama met with the pilot of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird jet shortly after the plane crashed following a flyover at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
    
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the president thanked the pilot for his service and expressed his relief that he wasn't seriously injured. The pilot safely ejected.
    
The F-16 crashed in a field near Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs just after ceremonies at the nearby academy where Obama delivered the commencement address.

Authorities say no one on the ground was injured.
    
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2:00 p.m.
    
President Barack Obama was about 15 miles away from where an Air Force Thunderbird jet crashed after an Air Force Academy graduation.
    
Obama was still at Falcon Stadium at the Air Force Academy, where commencement took place.  The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes. The president was taking photographs and greeting attendees in a private area during the Thunderbirds flyover.
    
News of the crash broke while Obama's motorcade was returning to Peterson Air Force Base - just next to where the jet crashed - for his flight back to Washington.
    
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1:44 p.m.
    
An Air Force Thunderbird jet crashed south of Colorado Springs just after a flyover for a graduation of Air Force Academy cadets where President Barack Obama had spoken.
    
Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michal Kloeffler-Howard said Thursday the pilot ejected. There was no information on the pilot's condition. No injuries on the ground were reported.
    
Obama was still at the graduation site at the time of the crash, taking photos with attendees prior to returning to Washington. The crash happened about 15 miles south of the academy.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
 

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