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MIAMI: Military and civilian authorities Sunday were
investigating the crash of a famed Blue Angels jet at a South
Carolina air show that left one Navy pilot dead and eight people on
the ground injured.
Officials have canceled a Sunday
appearance of the marquee flyers, but said the air show would go on
as scheduled.
“The cause of the crash is
currently under investigation. Emergency officials, both military
and civilian remain on scene at the site of the crash at this
time,” said Captain Sarah Kansteiner.
“After careful consideration
and consultation with local officials and commanders and with the
support of the Blue Angels, the [air show] will continue as
scheduled today,” she said.
“However the Blue Angels will
not perform. We will begin today’s air show with an appropriate
tribute to the fallen pilot that will include both military and
civilian officials.”
On Saturday, a pilot with the
aerial acrobatics team died when his fighter jet crashed to the
ground during as he entered the final “Delta formation” with
five other jets. The other planes landly safely.
The local Beaufort Gazette
newspaper said the plane appeared to have struck a tall pine tree
and traveled another block before crashing near a heavily populated
area.
The crash scene is closed and
only residents are being allowed near the crash scene. Officials
asked residents to refrain from touching any debris as it is part of
the investigation.
William Winn, director of the
county emergency management said most of the damage on the ground
was from debris falling on homes.
“Six had holes in the roof,”
he said. “But the exact damage we have not been able to determine
and we will do that as part of our investigation today.”
He said, however, that since the
crash occurred three miles (five kilometers) from the airfield, the
crowd at the show was not at risk.
Witnesses told the Gazette of a
sudden explosion as the plane slammed into the ground.
“Something caught my eye, and
all of a sudden I saw a huge, black explosion,” resident Jason
Keith told the daily.
“The plane went down, and we
watched it for a while and I didn’t see any parachute or anything.
If he had been 400 yards [meters] to his right he would have plowed
into the road,” he said.
“The other guys were just
flying along,” he said in reference to the other five planes in
the formation.
Another witness said five of the
jets “banked and the sixth made a sharp turn behind the trees.”
“We turned and looked back and
just saw the smoke. We couldn’t see anything like flames, we just
saw the smoke,” Ray Edgemon told South Carolina television station
WLTX.
Based in Pensacola, Florida, the
Blue Angels is a US Navy precision flight team known for its daring
aerobatic performances and its distinctive blue-and-yellow fighter
jets.
The squad was the main attraction
at the air show held at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort.
--AFP
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