I got to to met the pilot a few days before when he was VA. I shook his hand and talk for a minute. It's a shame on how quick people can leave this world. 😢 Rest In Peace
Just found UFOs move in on plane, probably causing electromagnetic disturbance of controls, one of many similiar military crashes with UFO presence, see my analysis
Very sad. My family and I are huge fans of the Blues. We live very near the airfield where they perform whenever they come to our town. We're in there flight path and they make their turns directly over my house. We're on top of a large hill (the highest point for miles around) and near a pond. I think they use us as a way point. On low passes I can actually see the pilots looking at us in our back yard. I met this gentleman just a few weeks prior to the crash after an airshow. He was very nice to me and my son. He was nice enough to speak with us for a few minutes and sign a photo for my son. That photo hangs in our home today. We couldn't believe what happened and are still shocked by this tragedy. We're a military family. We understand these things happen. It's so sad when bad things happen to good men. God speed to this hero and God bless his family.
I love the blue angels when I was in grade school they flew over my school causing two kids to run into each other causing one to have a concussion and the other a broken nose they came to the school apologized to the kids and talked to us all about what they do during an assembly great group of guys
What a terrible tragedy! As a GA pilot, I have long admired the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. NO one can say what went wrong above, because no one really knows, but there is a LOT of Monday-morning-quarterbacking going on from those who like to surmise, but have no real idea. It's easy to judge when you know nothing about what really happened. Why he couldn't pull out of a dive is not for anyone to judge, it could have been any number of things that went wrong, an instrument reading error or instrument mechanical error, a faulty control or lock on the stick, a short black-out, etc. ETC! -- who knows, (but EVERYONE has some kind of conjecture)! Investigation MAY tell, or not, but it's not likely to be publicized, but f what happened was possibly preventable, certainly they will warn other pilots about it or instruct pilots accordingly. It's just sad. Loss of an outstanding pilot. RIP, and safe flying and landings to the rest of those valiant teams.
It makes me wonder if he forgot to change the altimeter before takeoff and his MSL was not accurate. Same thing happened to one of the Thunderbirds a few years ago. That pilot was able to eject but the plane smashed into the ground. RIP Kuss
this happen too in Indonesia this year or last year, during airshow too. the T-50 pilot either fail to count the number of roll before commencing split s maneuver. the result is also the same. RIP
It also kills me to hear that you judge everyonr that voiced out their opinion of what really happened when perhaps they were real pilots and know more shit than you.
Perhaps, but I truly believe he passed out due to the stress of the g-forces in this maneuver. Female intuition. I'm no pilot but a g-force of this magnitude is strong. You can do it multiple times and then wham do it again & your toast. I so hate to see a plane crash. I'm no 'arm chair', just intuition talking here. I salute Jeff Kuss.
That is a maneuver #6 always does on take off. Either he didnt set the altimeter to field elevation, or he had a faulty altimeter. He was to low in the maneuver. It happened to a Thunderbird pilot a few years ago and he ejected at the last second.
I agree but i dont think it was Failure of Altimeter. Setting May have been incorrect.. For Every .1 in Alt Setting that is around 100ft So being off by .2 or .3 for a Blue Angel can be catastrophic I do think the Maneuvers have a built in Safety Margin. Did you notice #6 added an Aileron roll in his climb before executing the split s?? In other Blue Angel show Videos the maneuver is done without the Aileron Roll. Just wondering how often this was done.
Kin Thesla I have seen #6 Corkscrew aileron roll in other videos and the maneuver is completed successfully. Other Videos its a straight climb Also, the Blue Angels have three or Four shows that change due to cloud conditions and Weather
That's an interesting fact if it's true, the "flame out" on one or both engines. But there's an inconsistency in your comment because if he had a flame out, he wouldn't have been able to gain altitude would he? Those planes can fly with one engine. It looks to me like he was really, really coming down fast, - faster than normal for that maneuver, almost like a free fall. I've heard some people say he had some sort of stabilizer failure because unless he had an altimeter problem, there's no reason to wait that long to recover from the dive. It looks to me like he tried to pull out right at the end, so it appears he had functional control of the plane. I still say it was a misjudgement of when to pull out of the dive, but then again it looked like he dropped like a stone, so maybe there was a mechanical failure of some sort, or a flame out, and he got control toward the end, or a restart on the engine, but he was too low to recover. I met these pilots and this is really bothering me. I view these guys as larger than life, so it's tough to take.
HighMomentum1 A Thunderbird Pilot had the same type of accident and cause was Pilot starting the Maneuver too low. I think this is what happen in this case. I am Sure the Team Tried the same Maneuver after the crash at a safe altitude to see what is the Min Altitude needed to complete the maneuver before going below the hard deck. used on Preformances
@ProudBirther: They've performed that manuever many, many times, including practice twice per week at Pensacola, and a practice earlier in the day. They know the Min altitutde required to perform the manuever. By logic this suggests something went wrong that caused the aircraft to fall too far before pulling out of the dive. Either there was a loss of stabilzer control, had a flame out and lost navigational power, or he had a high speed stall as others have suggested. Watch the video closely...I've seen them practice in April, and watched the show many times....it really appears Captain Kruss was diving/falling faster than normal in that final 10 seconds before he disappears behind the tree line. This to me suggests there was some sort of mechanical failure, OR an altimeter failure of some sort. Something happened in that manuever that was not normal.
Didnt recover from the Split-S. From the video one can see, he was 1000-2000 lower from the minimum altitude to safely complete the manoeuvre. It looks like a pilot error not an engine stall.
count the seconds from the time the plane goes below the tree line until you see the smoke. ~12 seconds. He didn't 'fall from the sky'.' He attempted the maneuver too low and did not eject when we was lucky enough to pull out at the tree line. Probably kept flying at a really high alpha, couldn't see the trees, figured, 'I can make it' and didn't punch when he still had the chance. Not the first time that happened and won't be the last. Rest your oar Sailor. (BTW, not my assessment, but that of a shipmate who is a long time F-18 jockey.)
God bless you. You seem to be the only sane one here. You are spot on!!!!! There was SO much time even that the diamond was over the crash site during impact. I cant even imagine what it was like to see that. I am so sorry for EVERYONE.
The investigation recently completed and the cause was deemed pilot error. The report will indicate the crash occurred ~12 seconds after the pullout, which is consistent with the video. Unfortunate, but 100% preventable. I could provide more, but not appropriate here. I would say it is not so much that the pilot did not know to check the altimeter before beginning the maneuver, rather that a culture of complacency may have led him to do it by gut feel rather than procedure. But that is speculation. Tragic, and avoidable.
I forgot to mention that pretty much at any point during those 12 seconds the pilot could have ejected safely. The aircraft was already a loss, the pilot could have saved himself. Again, sounds like a command climate issue to me. But I'm not a pilot.
Although I believe there's a possibility you could know that, anybody can come on here and say they "know the investigation is completely" and not quote the source. If you were connected with the military, I highly doubt you'd be here posting on some youtube comment section about what you know, less you'd risk losing your job. Until the Navy releases their crash investigation to the public, I will view all comments as mere speculation. And besides, I will completely shoot holes in your theory about the altimeter because they practiced once in the morning with the same settings and had no problem with the maneuver. There would have been no reason to reset the altimeter unless they were compensating for cloud ceiling which wouldn't have mattered anyway because they weren't doing a show, it was only practice.
I'm no pilot but before this video was over I said to myself. HE PASSED OUT. DAMN, HE PASSED OUT. When it came to the end the newscaster spoke of another blue angel that crashed due to g-force factor. I think my intuition was right. A tremendous stress on the brain caused by g-forces in this maneuver. What a tragedy this was.
A very sad video to watch as the U.S. Navy says "Goodbye" to one of their best precision fliers! Rest In Peace, Captain Kuss, and May you fly with Heaven's Angels forever.
he probably would have died if he did and if he ejected the plane might have hit him on the way down. he didn't pull up in time and when he was coming down he was going fast, he did a free fall in a way he went out in a good way doing what he was best at doing a life goal such a shame he died though very sad
The official crash report from the Navy has been out for a few months now... He did try to eject but it was too late and he was thrown through a row of huge trees in the ejection seat, which is what killed him.
Very simple what happened. The Pilot never reached his “Gate Height” before pulling through. Gate Height is a minimum altitude you must be at or above, before you can complete the manoeuvre successfully without hitting the ground! He simply just didn’t have enough Height, probably due to trying to avoid going into cloud Inverted, to be able to complete the manoeuvre. Nothing to do with “G”- Lock what ever! He simply never reached a sufficient altitude to enable him to pull through, and complete that manoeuvre successfully! Still very sad loss though. R.I.P.
only a few of those F/A-18s have onboard camera's and I doubt we'll ever see the footage of the pilot and what he was doing in the moments leading up to impact. he was dropping fast enough and he looked like he had enough speed to pull out of the maneuver, and these are veteran performers who can handles more G forces than the average fighter pilot, and I too think he was a bit too low for any maneuvering. when did this happen by the way?
It's not about having enough air speed to pull out of the maneuver, it's about not stalling the aircraft which can happen at ANY AIRSPEED. Pulling up hard, stalling the aircraft at low alt. is a textbook killer at many airshows no matter what kind of aircraft is being flown to include helicopters (aerodynamically a bit different though-- sinking or "settling" with power). Yes I'm a licensed pilot. No, I don't know everything. Yes I flew in the mil. Yes I have rotary / fixed experience. No, I don't know why this Blue crashed but it looked to me in the vid. that it did go down with the nose up.
Kuss was doing the low transition to split S, the nose dive is in the maneuver but there is a chance he pulled up late or the aircraft had engine issues.
you never know when things like this can happen, within the blink of an eye, anything can happen, wherever this guy is flying in heaven, i hope its peaceful
I'm no professional, nor pilot and have minor knowledge in aviation but it looks like he stalled due to his high angle of attack and lack of altitude. When he started falling he didn't have the speed and therefore not enough lift to recover the aircraft from it's fall. Turns out I'm hella wrong, he was too fast, left the afterburners on and started his manoeuvre too low. He forgot to sign paper work that day and to turn his transponder on. He had a mistake free record until that day and the accident was likely determined by fatigue.
the news here at the home of the blue angels Pensacola fl" says" he was preforming a S turn and he was flying to low to perform the manauver" which lead to his crash. may he rest in peace.
That airplane is capable of recovering from a stall way, way before hitting the ground from that altitude. Plus, it was nose down. Not stalled. Accelerating. Just, for some reason did not ever recover. I don't know why. I just know how airplanes work.
The Jets were receiving software upgrades just prior to this and other "C" model crashes in the following weeks. #3 #4 got there's not to far from here. I think it just had something to do with the Fly by wire. He had the airspeed for the low transition to high performance climb. "That was NOT his first time doing it" You can clearly see erratic flight control surface movement starting with ailerons. That he looks to be fighting the entire time until he was able to get the jet nose down and gain airspeed enough to get some lift and then maneuver the jet to a safe place to ditch.
Fox Three Productions yes & don't forget that these jet are kinda raggedy too .I vid on ig this same jet a year b4 the crash had problems . I snuck pass security & got up close.They ain't telling the truth man.
The problem was not low altitude or not in msl formated altitude, simply just a minor stall. Notice how it fall to the left on the defend, also he did not pull it of the climb properly
As I seen them perform at Offut AFB , I saw them practice , and at the airshow. he added a extra trick .. * a barrel roll* usually he will climb into the right altitude 180° and turn on his back and come back down and rejoin the formation.. that's very sad to hear. Offut AFB is having a airshow and the Thunderbirds are replacing them because of this .
RPI Capt. Kuss. The memorial to him here in Smyrna is coming right along. It’ll have a FA-18 Blue Angel’s #6. 5 flag poles are up, and the grading and concrete work are done.
I have seen many stories about the crash here on youtube and a tribute video. Very sad to see a pilot of any kind die doing what he or she does best. RIP Captain Kuss! as i wrote this, the song " see you again " from the movie fast and the furious movie was playing on the radio. that made it more sad for me!
what I think happened was that the speed of the f18 was to fast so even though he was pulling up the gravitational pull and speed kept it going down even if he had his after burners on it would not save him
This man was an absolute hero.. he had adequate time to eject and could’ve saved his own life, but he stayed in the plane riding to his death, go prevent a crash in a populated area, and to make sure it was not going to hurt anyone else; crashing into an empty field ending his life, instead of ejecting over a populated area, sacrificing his life to save others.
That is by far the dumbest comment I have read so far considering where he actually crashed. He could have easily ejected *and* the plane would still have not crashed into any population whatsoever. Nah. This clearly was a case of pilot thinks they can save it syndrome. It happened so many times. Or he simply went dark due to pulling to much.
@@thatoneguy9666 I am respectful. Respectful to the truth. It's not like I am going to the family members of this guy directly and telling them it was his fault or whatever. Just simply refuting someone calling someone elses tragic but ultimately simple failure heroism. It is just disrespectful to actual heroes.
So sad. Pilot error, fatigue, all played a roll. He left his afterburners on, which pushed him into the ground. This during their 3 flights a day on their busiest months of the season. NTSB confirms. The Split S maneuver has since been pulled from the routine for now.
it remain a mystery, I can't imagine what captain kuss had gone through but may he rest in peace and be honored in heaven with the rest of the chariots of god
not true at all, he did eject and didn't black out either. he was too low for the maneuver, but by the time he realized that he was too low and traveling too quickly to eject efficiently for him to escape safely. he died from blunt force trauma 20 feet away from the crash.
SpongePants: That's extremely doubtful! You don't know what happened and probably no one in the public does. They may learn in investigation, but the military will NOT publicize that! The info MAY be used internally to avert other pilots from having a like event, but it is not for the public to surmise or judge.
If u pull up too quickly in a dive u stall like what happened it's physics of flight and if he knew that he was stalling ( the stall alarm would go off) he would have time to eject from the aircraft Also he may have blacked out when he tried to pull out because of the G forces
could it be a flight control lock of some sort? still he managed to crash in an open field my guess is he flew the plane out of harms way... guy is a hero!
What a load of shit, he probably was unconscious and had no idea where he was going to crash. Why does some idiot always say this shit when a military pilot crashes and in reality there is absolutely no evidence of such an intent.
I dont want to act like I know everything but I think the problem was; when the plane nosed up it didnt have enough speed to climb that high and as you can see it stalled. The speed wasnt able to carry the plane.
The report stated he didn’t turn the afterburners off after takeoff and performed the Split S maneuver at too low of an altitude to pull out of the dive.
I think he passed out after that climb, because the nose dive was so steep and suicidal, you can see he comes back to his senses almost hitting the ground and tries to pull up...
On March 11th 2020, exactly same contributing factors have caused Wing Commander Noman Akram, C.O of 9th Squadron, An Ace Pakistani Airforce Pilot flying F16 on Demo Run to exactly same result. Contributing factors were fatigue, and complacency. Cloudy weather, insufficient elevation, trying to compensate for the elevation by delaying Role on top then turning the AB on , rapid role on top then fast descent and stall on high speed, and too late to pull up the nose and hitting the ground with nose up, ejecting at impact and lose of life.
When I first saw I figured he lost propulsion (I’m no pilot or expert but I love planes and aerodynamics so I get the gist). Read afterwards he was going too fast and tried to recover too late, which would have a similar affect as losing propulsion in the sense that the without propulsion when the ailerons/flaps (I know ailerons outer edge of wing are for rolling but I see the fighters use them for lift when upside down) go up he won’t have enough forward speed to have enough air flow for them to create lift, but if he was diving too fast and too low then even with propulsion he wouldn’t have enough force and time to have the airflow take effect and cause lift. Either way it results in a plane going down stomach first with insufficient forward speed for flaps to create lift. This he stalls and falls out the sky like a slab on concrete. RIP takes some balls, stamina and brains to do what these people do.
No he did NOT forget to reset the altimeter. ARE YOU SERIOUS????? The Boss goes threw heading altimeter check and numerous other calls prior to taxi. I'm sure after what the T-Birds solo did by NOT doing that they tripple check it. Do a little homework. Did you know several of the angels just received software upgrades?. During the following weeks three more "C" model hornets went down. These are not linkage controlled fighters. These are "Fly By wire" Fighters. I just think something isn't jiving in the software. Or a combination of hardware and software leading to tragedy. Capt. Kuss clearly bottomed out below the treeline but did not ditch the Jet right away nor did he eject so he could assure the aircraft ditched in a non populated area. Way to sound ignorant and make a joke a such a heroic act. You should be ashamed of yourself.. Looks like even your avatar "Grumpy Cat" dislikes what you said.
Google it and you will find a Thunderbird did not reset is altimeter and ditched his jet. NEVER is the history of the Blues has a pilot not responded to Pre Taxi checks such as "The #1 Pilot known as Boss" Says his heading his altitude and numerous other calls before they even roll out of parking. Each of the other 5 pilots responds with what he is also seeing just replying with his call sign or number. If something is NOT right that jet is shut down and a spare used or they fly as a 5 plane demo.
I don't think he was in a nose dive. There are about 12 seconds from the time the plane disappears below the tree line and when the smoke from the explosion billows up. It is hard to see from the camera angle but I think He was going away from the camera below the tree line before the crash. That would be happening if he was still trying to pull out of the loop. My guess is he stayed with it and tried to recover until he hit the ground. One witness said he hit the ground nose up. It that is true then he was not in a nose dive. But that would be consistent with trying to pull out of that loop and running out of room or maybe even stalling with nose up. I live 5 miles from the crash site, have been within yards of the actual site and am very familiar with the airport and area. The crash site is in direct line from the take off runway (there are 2 runways). So the attempted loop was in line with that path. The crash site was close to apartments but there is an historical site called the Sam Davis Home that is much closer and there are people who work there and they often have groups of visitors. The Sam Davis home owns property around their structures. They are fields that are leased out to cotton farmers. I was there watching their first practice session, then left for home and heard the news when I got home after they had started their 2nd practice session. I have a picture of 2 Blues flying in formation with 2 civilian craft taken at the very end of their first practice session. I think those are the 2 solo pilots. If so then my picture is of Major Cuss about 1/2 hour or so before the crash. May his family, friends and fellow pilots find peace and comfort with God.
I don't think it was 12 seconds between disappearing behind the tree line, and the crash. It was more like 5-6 seconds. I don't think he ever got it leveled out to any degree.
This is sad. But I don't understand why he didn't eject. They're trained to eject. I guarantee before it even flipped around he already knew he was in trouble. I guarantee he made it known on the air waves. Y didn't he eject? Prayers to this man and his family. But there's something very fishy about this whole thing
Preface: Navy investigators will ascertain the reason for this accident. Observation: He rolls over the top after a climb of about 8 seconds in this video. I went back to compare the length of the climb with practice video from El Centro and the climbs appear to average 12 seconds out there. Would imagine the rate of climb would be about the same in TN as El Centro.
They flew her at the Hydro plane races in Seattle end of July. So very soon after this terrible tragedy. They spoke of it and the new wingman with only limited experience before this show but they are good because he was team. Lord but one hates to see any off them die though. Our hearts sour with them every time they are here!
Was in F-14 community 8 years at sea/land. these BA guys dont wear a G-suit.....it LOOKS like he PASSED out momentarily, ..REGAINED himself, tried to pull out, albeit too late HEROS all ofem RIP Sailor..
It did work, he only never ejected because the plane was near houses, if ejecting near there could result in heavy civillian casualties, but i didn't know why he hadn't ejected once the houses was clear
I have a New Theory. It is something in the video we all seem to overlook. The LOW DARK CLOUD #6 is heading toward on his climb. He may have tried to start the Pitch Over early to avoid going into the cloud. If the sky was clear he may have climbed out to a higher altitude before starting the pitch over On the Zoom in on the Video you can see that cloud is LOW and DARK almost like a raincloud. The bottom of that cloud may have been less then 3000 ft. From some research i have done this maneuver should be done at a min hight of 3500ft AGL on Low Ceiling Shows.
My theory may be correct. I looked up the WEATHER METARS at the time and location for SMYRNA AIRPORT June 2 at 3:15pm CST and found Scattered Clouds at 3000 ft. there was also Lightning (LGT) Drizzle (DZ) and Distant Weather East and Southeast of the Airport. The Crash Site is about 1 Mile southeast of Airport. Here is the Metar i found MQY 2016-06-02 15:15 M +DZ +FZRA +FZDZ KMQY 022015Z AUTO 04004KT 11SM +DZ +FZRA +FZDZ SCT030 31/21 A3001 RMK T03100210 LTG DSNT E AND SE AND W![ACFT MISHAP] MADISHF
I like your new theory, but.....you need to explain WHY he would simply ignore his altimeter, regardless of the cloud ceiling? If you look at the jet in the dive, he's really got some speed coming down. The more I consider this, the more I think he had either a flame out, high speed stall, or some sort of mechanical failure. He's coming down way too fast and had to know it. They practiced earlier in the day so the altimeter had to have been set properly you would think. It looks like mechanical failure of some sort to me, and he rode it all the way down. Hero.
This man will always be rememberd... he was my flight instructor's student. RIP Jess, fly high!
Last time he did that it didn't go well, no disrespect rip
"Fly high" is unnecessary in this case
His name is Jeff.
welp thats finna be difficult for him
@@southern_merican you wrong for that LOL
I got to to met the pilot a few days before when he was VA. I shook his hand and talk for a minute. It's a shame on how quick people can leave this world. 😢 Rest In Peace
UFOs moved in on plane
R.I.P.
@@666ufoMr your stupid shut the fuck up
@@pablo-gracia I don't remember what I said I was just analysing the ball of light I know people died and it was tragic
🥺❤
Captain Jeff Kuss was a distant neighbor of mine, his Aunt and Uncle are my neighbors. It was a very sad day for our community. God Bless You.
Just found UFOs move in on plane, probably causing electromagnetic disturbance of controls, one of many similiar military crashes with UFO presence, see my analysis
conspiracy theorist
Why didn't he eject?
@@RedHeadedFatBoy no time too
@@lemonsaid9018 that's terrible. Im sorry.
Very sad. My family and I are huge fans of the Blues. We live very near the airfield where they perform whenever they come to our town. We're in there flight path and they make their turns directly over my house. We're on top of a large hill (the highest point for miles around) and near a pond. I think they use us as a way point. On low passes I can actually see the pilots looking at us in our back yard. I met this gentleman just a few weeks prior to the crash after an airshow. He was very nice to me and my son. He was nice enough to speak with us for a few minutes and sign a photo for my son. That photo hangs in our home today. We couldn't believe what happened and are still shocked by this tragedy. We're a military family. We understand these things happen. It's so sad when bad things happen to good men. God speed to this hero and God bless his family.
Very nice comment, Jack, no we don't understand what took this wonderful pilot but our condolences to his family and RIP to the pilot.
❤❤❤
So sad. R.I.P. Captain Jeff Kuss.
William Matthews if he would have he would have killed more than himself so he just took his own lifeit to save others
I love the blue angels when I was in grade school they flew over my school causing two kids to run into each other causing one to have a concussion and the other a broken nose they came to the school apologized to the kids and talked to us all about what they do during an assembly great group of guys
What a terrible tragedy! As a GA pilot, I have long admired the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. NO one can say what went wrong above, because no one really knows, but there is a LOT of Monday-morning-quarterbacking going on from those who like to surmise, but have no real idea. It's easy to judge when you know nothing about what really happened. Why he couldn't pull out of a dive is not for anyone to judge, it could have been any number of things that went wrong, an instrument reading error or instrument mechanical error, a faulty control or lock on the stick, a short black-out, etc. ETC! -- who knows, (but EVERYONE has some kind of conjecture)! Investigation MAY tell, or not, but it's not likely to be publicized, but f what happened was possibly preventable, certainly they will warn other pilots about it or instruct pilots accordingly. It's just sad. Loss of an outstanding pilot. RIP, and safe flying and landings to the rest of those valiant teams.
M.J. Leger to
There you go judging GA pilot.
It makes me wonder if he forgot to change the altimeter before takeoff and his MSL was not accurate. Same thing happened to one of the Thunderbirds a few years ago. That pilot was able to eject but the plane smashed into the ground. RIP Kuss
Good point, could be. No pilot should ever put himself above the checklist.
So American fighter pilots don't check their altimeters....great.
this happen too in Indonesia this year or last year, during airshow too. the T-50 pilot either fail to count the number of roll before commencing split s maneuver. the result is also the same. RIP
Could be, he might have not ejected to save the people on the ground.
dodge garman His alerons weren't funtioning completly after takeoff and sacrificed himself to save others R.I.P "Kooch" his Nickname
It kills me to hear all the ARM CHAIR Pilots that think they know what happened.............
I know right
It also kills me to hear that you judge everyonr that voiced out their opinion of what really happened when perhaps they were real pilots and know more shit than you.
@@somerandomdude2495 unlikely.
Perhaps, but I truly believe he passed out due to the stress of the g-forces in this maneuver. Female intuition. I'm no pilot but a g-force of this magnitude is strong. You can do it multiple times and then wham do it again & your toast. I so hate to see a plane crash. I'm no 'arm chair', just intuition talking here. I salute Jeff Kuss.
@ApollyonKeterEuclid Spell it first...
Properly this you stupid ass!
That is a maneuver #6 always does on take off. Either he didnt set the altimeter to field elevation, or he had a faulty altimeter. He was to low in the maneuver. It happened to a Thunderbird pilot a few years ago and he ejected at the last second.
I agree but i dont think it was Failure of Altimeter. Setting May have been incorrect.. For Every .1 in Alt Setting that is around 100ft So being off by .2 or .3 for a Blue Angel can be catastrophic I do think the Maneuvers have a built in Safety Margin. Did you notice #6 added an Aileron roll in his climb before executing the split s?? In other Blue Angel show Videos the maneuver is done without the Aileron Roll.
Just wondering how often this was done.
A maneuver #2
It's done like this every time. They don't vary their show.
Kin Thesla
I have seen #6 Corkscrew aileron roll in other videos and the maneuver is completed successfully. Other Videos its a straight climb
Also, the Blue Angels have three or Four shows that change due to cloud conditions and Weather
Yes, but I I guess I mean they don't vary it at the time. As in, 'I've go room for one more roll.'
R.I.P. captain kruss may he Rest In Peace he is a legend
Rest in peace. My best wishes to his family and friends.
altitude was to low for that maneuver
basically same things as the Thunderbird crash a few yrs ago
@ Kim Chi Wrong. He was too low to complete maneuver.
That's an interesting fact if it's true, the "flame out" on one or both engines. But there's an inconsistency in your comment because if he had a flame out, he wouldn't have been able to gain altitude would he? Those planes can fly with one engine. It looks to me like he was really, really coming down fast, - faster than normal for that maneuver, almost like a free fall. I've heard some people say he had some sort of stabilizer failure because unless he had an altimeter problem, there's no reason to wait that long to recover from the dive. It looks to me like he tried to pull out right at the end, so it appears he had functional control of the plane. I still say it was a misjudgement of when to pull out of the dive, but then again it looked like he dropped like a stone, so maybe there was a mechanical failure of some sort, or a flame out, and he got control toward the end, or a restart on the engine, but he was too low to recover. I met these pilots and this is really bothering me. I view these guys as larger than life, so it's tough to take.
HighMomentum1
A Thunderbird Pilot had the same type of accident and cause was Pilot starting the Maneuver too low. I think this is what happen in this case.
I am Sure the Team Tried the same Maneuver after the crash at a safe altitude to see what is the Min Altitude needed to complete the maneuver before going below the hard deck. used on Preformances
@ProudBirther: They've performed that manuever many, many times, including practice twice per week at Pensacola, and a practice earlier in the day. They know the Min altitutde required to perform the manuever. By logic this suggests something went wrong that caused the aircraft to fall too far before pulling out of the dive. Either there was a loss of stabilzer control, had a flame out and lost navigational power, or he had a high speed stall as others have suggested. Watch the video closely...I've seen them practice in April, and watched the show many times....it really appears Captain Kruss was diving/falling faster than normal in that final 10 seconds before he disappears behind the tree line. This to me suggests there was some sort of mechanical failure, OR an altimeter failure of some sort. Something happened in that manuever that was not normal.
Didnt recover from the Split-S. From the video one can see, he was 1000-2000 lower from the minimum altitude to safely complete the manoeuvre. It looks like a pilot error not an engine stall.
Respect to the pilot and his family.
Chika fujiwara
He stalled and trying to fly away from people he didn’t ejected
@@Jonah_cantbike It looks like he stalled. So sad.
count the seconds from the time the plane goes below the tree line until you see the smoke. ~12 seconds. He didn't 'fall from the sky'.' He attempted the maneuver too low and did not eject when we was lucky enough to pull out at the tree line. Probably kept flying at a really high alpha, couldn't see the trees, figured, 'I can make it' and didn't punch when he still had the chance. Not the first time that happened and won't be the last. Rest your oar Sailor. (BTW, not my assessment, but that of a shipmate who is a long time F-18 jockey.)
God bless you. You seem to be the only sane one here. You are spot on!!!!! There was SO much time even that the diamond was over the crash site during impact. I cant even imagine what it was like to see that. I am so sorry for EVERYONE.
The investigation recently completed and the cause was deemed pilot error. The report will indicate the crash occurred ~12 seconds after the pullout, which is consistent with the video. Unfortunate, but 100% preventable. I could provide more, but not appropriate here. I would say it is not so much that the pilot did not know to check the altimeter before beginning the maneuver, rather that a culture of complacency may have led him to do it by gut feel rather than procedure. But that is speculation. Tragic, and avoidable.
I forgot to mention that pretty much at any point during those 12 seconds the pilot could have ejected safely. The aircraft was already a loss, the pilot could have saved himself. Again, sounds like a command climate issue to me. But I'm not a pilot.
Although I believe there's a possibility you could know that, anybody can come on here and say they "know the investigation is completely" and not quote the source. If you were connected with the military, I highly doubt you'd be here posting on some youtube comment section about what you know, less you'd risk losing your job. Until the Navy releases their crash investigation to the public, I will view all comments as mere speculation. And besides, I will completely shoot holes in your theory about the altimeter because they practiced once in the morning with the same settings and had no problem with the maneuver. There would have been no reason to reset the altimeter unless they were compensating for cloud ceiling which wouldn't have mattered anyway because they weren't doing a show, it was only practice.
"Investigation is completed"
Bless his soul😔😢
I'm no pilot but before this video was over I said to myself. HE PASSED OUT. DAMN, HE PASSED OUT. When it came to the end the newscaster spoke of another blue angel that crashed due to g-force factor. I think my intuition was right. A tremendous stress on the brain caused by g-forces in this maneuver. What a tragedy this was.
You do see that he is pulling but he was too low and kinda low on speed so he was just falling he most likely didnt pass out
A very sad video to watch as the U.S. Navy says "Goodbye" to one of their best precision fliers! Rest In Peace, Captain Kuss, and May you fly with Heaven's Angels forever.
well not to be mean but hes prolly scared to fly after that
Do military aircraft have black boxes. If so, may help in answering the question.
At least he died doing what he loved, from the Bay area, it was an honor to have you perform at the Bay
My condolences to the family ... a great loss to the community and the nation ... R.I.P. 🇺🇸
Strange he didn't eject
he probably would have died if he did and if he ejected the plane might have hit him on the way down. he didn't pull up in time and when he was coming down he was going fast, he did a free fall in a way he went out in a good way doing what he was best at doing a life goal such a shame he died though very sad
Well if he wasn't upside down he could eject it blows you very high and you get down safe
true
The official crash report from the Navy has been out for a few months now... He did try to eject but it was too late and he was thrown through a row of huge trees in the ejection seat, which is what killed him.
Thomas P the report said the pilot did eject but too late and his chute was burned by the ball of fire, that made him fall to the ground and die.
Very simple what happened. The Pilot never reached his “Gate Height” before pulling through. Gate Height is a minimum altitude you must be at or above, before you can complete the manoeuvre successfully without hitting the ground! He simply just didn’t have enough Height, probably due to trying to avoid going into cloud Inverted, to be able to complete the manoeuvre. Nothing to do with “G”- Lock what ever! He simply never reached a sufficient altitude to enable him to pull through, and complete that manoeuvre successfully! Still very sad loss though. R.I.P.
only a few of those F/A-18s have onboard camera's and I doubt we'll ever see the footage of the pilot and what he was doing in the moments leading up to impact. he was dropping fast enough and he looked like he had enough speed to pull out of the maneuver, and these are veteran performers who can handles more G forces than the average fighter pilot, and I too think he was a bit too low for any maneuvering. when did this happen by the way?
On June 2, 2016
and this is probably the only video it doesn't show the F/A-18 hitting the ground, just the smoke plume
It's not about having enough air speed to pull out of the maneuver, it's about not stalling the aircraft which can happen at ANY AIRSPEED. Pulling up hard, stalling the aircraft at low alt. is a textbook killer at many airshows no matter what kind of aircraft is being flown to include helicopters (aerodynamically a bit different though-- sinking or "settling" with power).
Yes I'm a licensed pilot. No, I don't know everything. Yes I flew in the mil. Yes I have rotary / fixed experience. No, I don't know why this Blue crashed but it looked to me in the vid. that it did go down with the nose up.
+Derek Wall ; one of the witnesses said he crashed nose up. Doesn't that seem like he was trying to pull up till the end? Shame.
What’s about all the trainings & courses he had
Kuss was doing the low transition to split S, the nose dive is in the maneuver but there is a chance he pulled up late or the aircraft had engine issues.
Perhaps he attempted the manoeuvre from an altitude which wouldn't allow the completion of the pull out from the dive?
Mechanical? Pilot error? Fatigue?
#2, with #3 as a contributing factor. #1 not an issue.
you never know when things like this can happen, within the blink of an eye, anything can happen, wherever this guy is flying in heaven, i hope its peaceful
i cant even imagine the shock those pilots had when they saw the black smoke / explosion
blue angels..🙏💙
I'm no professional, nor pilot and have minor knowledge in aviation but it looks like he stalled due to his high angle of attack and lack of altitude. When he started falling he didn't have the speed and therefore not enough lift to recover the aircraft from it's fall.
Turns out I'm hella wrong, he was too fast, left the afterburners on and started his manoeuvre too low. He forgot to sign paper work that day and to turn his transponder on. He had a mistake free record until that day and the accident was likely determined by fatigue.
Rest in peace sir! My condolences to the family.
the news here at the home of the blue angels Pensacola fl" says" he was preforming a S turn and he was flying to low to perform the manauver" which lead to his crash. may he rest in peace.
I think maybe not enough altitude before rolling over, not G-loc.
That airplane is capable of recovering from a stall way, way before hitting the ground from that altitude.
Plus, it was nose down. Not stalled. Accelerating.
Just, for some reason did not ever recover.
I don't know why.
I just know how airplanes work.
+Les Brown Possible skid stall
The Jets were receiving software upgrades just prior to this and other "C" model crashes in the following weeks. #3 #4 got there's not to far from here. I think it just had something to do with the Fly by wire. He had the airspeed for the low transition to high performance climb. "That was NOT his first time doing it" You can clearly see erratic flight control surface movement starting with ailerons. That he looks to be fighting the entire time until he was able to get the jet nose down and gain airspeed enough to get some lift and then maneuver the jet to a safe place to ditch.
Fox Three Productions yes & don't forget that these jet are kinda raggedy too .I vid on ig this same jet a year b4 the crash had problems . I snuck pass security & got up close.They ain't telling the truth man.
Fox Three Productions oh bs. Read the report. He was not fighting anything.
@highmomentum, thanks for the info. It's a crappy thing one way or the other. these guys are the best of the best.
Every time I go to the park I visit the memorial.
Glad to see the new park is based off of the Blue Angels.
I salute every Blue Angels member.
I Had The Misfortune Of Seeing The Blue Angels Crash back In 1985
The problem was not low altitude or not in msl formated altitude, simply just a minor stall. Notice how it fall to the left on the defend, also he did not pull it of the climb properly
I know they said pilot error, but why does it look like there just wasn’t enough thrust power to pull it back up ?
As I seen them perform at Offut AFB , I saw them practice , and at the airshow. he added a extra trick .. * a barrel roll* usually he will climb into the right altitude 180° and turn on his back and come back down and rejoin the formation.. that's very sad to hear. Offut AFB is having a airshow and the Thunderbirds are replacing them because of this .
A barrel roll is really something every pilot flying performance and aerobatics learns and can do well.
A basic procedure involving all three axis.
A barrel roll is a 1G maneuver, so any thoughts of blacking out during that don't mesh. Besides, he was rolling on one axis, not doing a barrel roll.
The same type thing happened to an Air Force Thunderbird pilot.
Could not the pilot ejected???
Or was he not thinking to?
He did eject unfortunately his chute was immediately engulfed in flames and he fell to his death
imagine coming off the high of your first round of practice and then going into an uncontrollable nose dive
RPI Capt. Kuss. The memorial to him here in Smyrna is coming right along. It’ll have a FA-18 Blue Angel’s #6. 5 flag poles are up, and the grading and concrete work are done.
No ejecting?
Similar to the maneuver of the Thunderbird crash but that pilot ejected safely.
I was there a half mile away watching. I remember crying and running to my mom.
I have seen many stories about the crash here on youtube and a tribute video. Very sad to see a pilot of any kind die doing what he or she does best. RIP Captain Kuss! as i wrote this, the song " see you again " from the movie fast and the furious movie was playing on the radio. that made it more sad for me!
He passed out most likely... He is experienced and smart enough to not do the maneuver if altitude is too low.
what I think happened was that the speed of the f18 was to fast so even though he was pulling up the gravitational pull and speed kept it going down even if he had his after burners on it would not save him
This man was an absolute hero.. he had adequate time to eject and could’ve saved his own life, but he stayed in the plane riding to his death, go prevent a crash in a populated area, and to make sure it was not going to hurt anyone else; crashing into an empty field ending his life, instead of ejecting over a populated area, sacrificing his life to save others.
That is by far the dumbest comment I have read so far considering where he actually crashed. He could have easily ejected *and* the plane would still have not crashed into any population whatsoever. Nah. This clearly was a case of pilot thinks they can save it syndrome. It happened so many times. Or he simply went dark due to pulling to much.
@@spudbencer7179 Agreed. Why does everyone have to call hero? The survival instinct is very strong.
@@spudbencer7179 what are you talking about bro, are you incapable of being respectful?
@@thatoneguy9666 I am respectful. Respectful to the truth. It's not like I am going to the family members of this guy directly and telling them it was his fault or whatever. Just simply refuting someone calling someone elses tragic but ultimately simple failure heroism. It is just disrespectful to actual heroes.
@@spudbencer7179 he made sure the plane didn’t hit houses, how is that not heroic?
The United States is fortunate that these Guardians are protecting us.💕God bless The United States Military 💜
So sad. Pilot error, fatigue, all played a roll. He left his afterburners on, which pushed him into the ground. This during their 3 flights a day on their busiest months of the season. NTSB confirms. The Split S maneuver has since been pulled from the routine for now.
it remain a mystery, I can't imagine what captain kuss had gone through but may he rest in peace and be honored in heaven with the rest of the chariots of god
He was a good man he was always he did this for the people out the he did this for us it's not his fault he did his best rip jeff 😓😢😭😭😭😭
It's sad ! I'm sure he passed out and woke up at the last minute
Saw the Blues a few months before this crash. So sad. Semper Fi, Capt. Kuss.
Possible flameout?
That pilot didn't handled that G Force, so he passed out. That's why he crashed.
true but sad
not true at all, he did eject and didn't black out either. he was too low for the maneuver, but by the time he realized that he was too low and traveling too quickly to eject efficiently for him to escape safely. he died from blunt force trauma 20 feet away from the crash.
SpongePants: That's extremely doubtful! You don't know what happened and probably no one in the public does. They may learn in investigation, but the military will NOT publicize that! The info MAY be used internally to avert other pilots from having a like event, but it is not for the public to surmise or judge.
Parachute, what happened to the parachute
Pilot lost conscience, looks like it.
If u pull up too quickly in a dive u stall like what happened it's physics of flight and if he knew that he was stalling ( the stall alarm would go off) he would have time to eject from the aircraft
Also he may have blacked out when he tried to pull out because of the G forces
could it be a flight control lock of some sort? still he managed to crash in an open field my guess is he flew the plane out of harms way... guy is a hero!
its probably him. He probably was too low to pull up.
Refused B Either way - Love that he was thinking so Selflessly in the end - Saving other lives by diverting...
ThePrissyMommyLife its what they are trained to do. Try to avoid people.
What a load of shit, he probably was unconscious and had no idea where he was going to crash. Why does some idiot always say this shit when a military pilot crashes and in reality there is absolutely no evidence of such an intent.
He was in G-lock he could not pulled out he passed out unconscious because of the all of the g’s he was pulling
But that's a low G maneuver, and if he was G LOC'd (not locked) how do you explain his ejection?
did he pass out fromg force?
SiRSirReckingToN no
I dont want to act like I know everything but I think the problem was; when the plane nosed up it didnt have enough speed to climb that high and as you can see it stalled. The speed wasnt able to carry the plane.
Why didnt he eject???
It was said he didn’t eject because the fighter jet would have crashed into peoples houses
Was he trying to make a loop and come back over across and ran out of space?
The report stated he didn’t turn the afterburners off after takeoff and performed the Split S maneuver at too low of an altitude to pull out of the dive.
The most gifted job in the world to fly for the BLUE ANGELS GOD BLESS captain Jeff kuss
Ik what it’s like to live someone but don’t know the pain of them going away
He also died a hero. Many say he stayed with the plane to help the plane avoid houses in the area that could've costed so many others.
I think he passed out after that climb, because the nose dive was so steep and suicidal, you can see he comes back to his senses almost hitting the ground and tries to pull up...
On March 11th 2020, exactly same contributing factors have caused Wing Commander Noman Akram, C.O of 9th Squadron, An Ace Pakistani Airforce Pilot flying F16 on Demo Run to exactly same result. Contributing factors were fatigue, and complacency. Cloudy weather, insufficient elevation, trying to compensate for the elevation by delaying Role on top then turning the AB on , rapid role on top then fast descent and stall on high speed, and too late to pull up the nose and hitting the ground with nose up, ejecting at impact and lose of life.
Why cant he pull the eject seat..?
There was people so he tried to pull away
rest in peace.
we love you 😭😭⚰️⚰️🙏.
skys ♾.
When I first saw I figured he lost propulsion (I’m no pilot or expert but I love planes and aerodynamics so I get the gist). Read afterwards he was going too fast and tried to recover too late, which would have a similar affect as losing propulsion in the sense that the without propulsion when the ailerons/flaps (I know ailerons outer edge of wing are for rolling but I see the fighters use them for lift when upside down) go up he won’t have enough forward speed to have enough air flow for them to create lift, but if he was diving too fast and too low then even with propulsion he wouldn’t have enough force and time to have the airflow take effect and cause lift. Either way it results in a plane going down stomach first with insufficient forward speed for flaps to create lift. This he stalls and falls out the sky like a slab on concrete. RIP takes some balls, stamina and brains to do what these people do.
I wondered if maybe he lost consciousness somehow, and roused too late to pull up enough... but yours makes sense
Rip may he always be remembered
Most likely forgot to reset his altitude above sea level at this venue.
There are radars and electronics which preclude the need. Redundant systems. GPS.
Not true, Google it.
No he did NOT forget to reset the altimeter. ARE YOU SERIOUS????? The Boss goes threw heading altimeter check and numerous other calls prior to taxi. I'm sure after what the T-Birds solo did by NOT doing that they tripple check it. Do a little homework. Did you know several of the angels just received software upgrades?. During the following weeks three more "C" model hornets went down. These are not linkage controlled fighters. These are "Fly By wire" Fighters. I just think something isn't jiving in the software. Or a combination of hardware and software leading to tragedy. Capt. Kuss clearly bottomed out below the treeline but did not ditch the Jet right away nor did he eject so he could assure the aircraft ditched in a non populated area. Way to sound ignorant and make a joke a such a heroic act. You should be ashamed of yourself.. Looks like even your avatar "Grumpy Cat" dislikes what you said.
Google it and you will find a Thunderbird did not reset is altimeter and ditched his jet. NEVER is the history of the Blues has a pilot not responded to Pre Taxi checks such as "The #1 Pilot known as Boss" Says his heading his altitude and numerous other calls before they even roll out of parking. Each of the other 5 pilots responds with what he is also seeing just replying with his call sign or number. If something is NOT right that jet is shut down and a spare used or they fly as a 5 plane demo.
Fox Three Productions Wow, calm down. Take about 30% off the intensity...
Why didn't he eject?
God bless América
Rip brother 😭
Reporter says it appears to be pulling up at the very last instant, but that looked more like a stall to me!
Prolly blacked out R.I.P
Y didn't pilot ejected??
He did eject unfortunately the chute was immediately engulfed in flames and he fell to his death
@@taylorcooke3775 Ok..
He passed out
My prayers to the family
I am so sorry. RIP
I don't think he was in a nose dive. There are about 12 seconds from the time the plane disappears below the tree line and when the smoke from the explosion billows up.
It is hard to see from the camera angle but I think He was going away from the camera
below the tree line before the crash. That would be happening if he was still trying to pull out of the loop. My guess is he stayed with it and tried to recover until he hit the ground. One witness said he hit the ground nose up. It that is true then he was not in a nose dive. But that would be consistent with trying to pull out of that loop and running out of room or maybe even stalling with nose up. I live 5 miles from the crash site, have been within yards of the actual site and am very familiar with the airport and area. The crash site is in direct line from the take off runway (there are 2 runways). So the attempted loop was in line with that path.
The crash site was close to apartments but there is an historical site called the Sam Davis Home that is much closer and there are people who work there and they often have groups of visitors. The Sam Davis home owns property around their structures. They are fields that are leased out to cotton farmers. I was there watching their first practice session, then left for home and heard the news when I got home after they had started their 2nd practice session. I have a picture of 2 Blues flying in formation with 2 civilian craft taken at the very end of their first practice session. I think those are the 2 solo pilots. If so then my picture is of Major Cuss about 1/2 hour or so before the crash. May his family, friends and fellow pilots find peace and comfort with God.
I don't think it was 12 seconds between disappearing behind the tree line, and the crash. It was more like 5-6 seconds. I don't think he ever got it leveled out to any degree.
he was an Angel.....!!! * nuff said... rip...
This is sad. But I don't understand why he didn't eject. They're trained to eject. I guarantee before it even flipped around he already knew he was in trouble. I guarantee he made it known on the air waves. Y didn't he eject? Prayers to this man and his family. But there's something very fishy about this whole thing
maybe he was close to blacking out
Rest in peace sir.
Why didn’t he try to eject? G lock???
Could have lost consciousness
Preface: Navy investigators will ascertain the reason for this accident. Observation: He rolls over the top after a climb of about 8 seconds in this video. I went back to compare the length of the climb with practice video from El Centro and the climbs appear to average 12 seconds out there. Would imagine the rate of climb would be about the same in TN as El Centro.
They flew her at the Hydro plane races in Seattle end of July. So very soon after this terrible tragedy. They spoke of it and the new wingman with only limited experience before this show but they are good because he was team. Lord but one hates to see any off them die though. Our hearts sour with them every time they are here!
Apparently everyone in the comments are experts.
Was in F-14 community 8 years at sea/land. these BA guys dont wear a G-suit.....it LOOKS like he PASSED out momentarily, ..REGAINED himself, tried to pull out, albeit too late HEROS all ofem RIP Sailor..
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds performed a Missing Man formation for him.
Very, very classy act on the part of the Snowbirds!
Salute and respect ✈️😔
I guess I'm assuming the ejection seat did not work
It did work, he only never ejected because the plane was near houses, if ejecting near there could result in heavy civillian casualties, but i didn't know why he hadn't ejected once the houses was clear
R.i.p💙🙏
I have a New Theory. It is something in the video we all seem to overlook. The LOW DARK CLOUD #6 is heading toward on his climb.
He may have tried to start the Pitch Over early to avoid going into the cloud. If the sky was clear he may have climbed out to a higher altitude before starting the pitch over
On the Zoom in on the Video you can see that cloud is LOW and DARK almost like a raincloud. The bottom of that cloud may have been less then 3000 ft.
From some research i have done this maneuver should be done at a min hight of 3500ft AGL on Low Ceiling Shows.
My theory may be correct. I looked up the WEATHER METARS at the time and location for SMYRNA AIRPORT June 2 at 3:15pm CST and found Scattered Clouds at 3000 ft. there was also Lightning (LGT) Drizzle (DZ) and Distant Weather East and Southeast of the Airport.
The Crash Site is about 1 Mile southeast of Airport. Here is the Metar i found
MQY 2016-06-02 15:15 M +DZ +FZRA +FZDZ KMQY 022015Z AUTO 04004KT 11SM +DZ +FZRA +FZDZ SCT030 31/21 A3001 RMK T03100210 LTG DSNT E AND SE AND W![ACFT MISHAP] MADISHF
I like your new theory, but.....you need to explain WHY he would simply ignore his altimeter, regardless of the cloud ceiling? If you look at the jet in the dive, he's really got some speed coming down. The more I consider this, the more I think he had either a flame out, high speed stall, or some sort of mechanical failure. He's coming down way too fast and had to know it. They practiced earlier in the day so the altimeter had to have been set properly you would think. It looks like mechanical failure of some sort to me, and he rode it all the way down. Hero.
I saw the blue angels @ a strip club the night before this happened. Snortin blow in the VIP. These guys partied hard. Unfortunate pilot error.
Oof