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They say tragedy strikes in series of threes    

June 12, 2016
Paco Chierici No Comments Expert Analysis, Military Aviation, News

Thursday, June 2nd, ago was one of the darkest days in recent memory for the Navy and Air Force flight demonstration teams. The Blue Angels have suspended their schedule after the tragic loss of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss.  They announced, during an emotional memorial service, that their first show back would be for their home town crowd of Pensacola FL, perhaps as soon as July 16th for the Pensacola Beach Air Show

 

The pilot of Thunderbirds F-16, Maj. Alex Turner, ejected safely from his stricken aircraft following the annual flyover commemorating the graduation ceremonies at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs CO.  The initial report was that the engine failed during landing leading to the successful ejection.  The formal investigation is unfolding and will hopefully yield actionable information to improve safety.

thunderbird+heli+feed

A week later, Thursday June 9th, a pilot in the Russian flight demonstration team ejected from his Su-27.  The Russian news agency, TASS reported that Major Sergey Yeremenko ejected after he suffered an inflight stroke (http://tass.ru/en/society/881612).  The team was returning, somewhat ironically, from overflying a ceremony at the opening for a monument to aviators.

 

In all three mishaps the pilots demonstrated a great degree of professionalism, including eyewitness reports that both Capt. Kuss and Major Yeremenko took great pains to avoid civilians on the ground.

About the Author

Paco Chierici flew A-6E Intruders and F-14A Tomcats during his 10 year active duty career. He flew the F-5 Tiger II for a further 10 years as a Bandit concurrent with his employment as a commercial pilot. Paco is currently a 737 captain. Paco is also the creator and producer of the award winning naval aviation documentary Speed and Angels. Paco has written articles for various international and domestic magazines as well as regular contributions to Fighter Sweep. He has signed with an agent to represent the sale of his debut novel, Lions in the Sky, a naval aviation thriller. Paco has the standard panoply of medals and ribbons but his proudest accomplishment is the Top Nugget award for landing grades from his first deployment.

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