Blue Angels display team pilot dies in Tennessee crash

The pilot of a Blue Angels jet was killed Thursday during practice for a weekend air show, when the plane he was flying crashed near a tourist site in Tennessee.

The Blue Angles are the US Navy’s aeronautical display team, similar to the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows, but fly F/A-18 Hornets, one of the most revered aircraft in the US military’s arsenal.

The crash occurred at the beginning of practice, just after the pilot took off, the Navy said. None of the five other Blue Angels jets was involved in the incident.

Just hours earlier, a Thunderbirds F-16, the US Air Force’s display team, crashed following a flyover at the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony attended by the President, officials said.

The Thunderbirds pilot safely ejected before the plane went down in Colorado.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the Blue Angels after this tragic loss,” Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said. “I know that the Navy and Marine Corps team is with me. We will investigate this accident fully and do all we can to prevent similar incidents in the future.”