The Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, soar in the five-plan configuration at the Pensacola Beach Air Show in Pensacola, Fla., July 14, 2016. (Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ian Cotter)
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — The Navy‘s Blue Angels this weekend will perform their only non-continental U.S. appearance of the year and fourth show since an accident killed one of their pilots and grounded the group.
Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss was killed June 3 when his F/A-18 Hornet crashed near Nashville, Tennessee, during a dress rehearsal performance for a Blue Angels show there. Three shows were canceled following the crash. Performances resumed in early July.
An investigation is ongoing.
Since then, the team has been performing with a five-jet formation instead of its normal six-jet configuration, said Navy Cmdr. Ryan Bernacchi, the group’s flight leader.
“We changed just a few small things in terms of who flies in what position to balance out the formation,” he said. “It’s something we always practice because, in any given show, we could have a plane have a mechanical issue and not launch, so we just shift into our five-plane mode. It’s something we always have in our game plan.”
To prepare for the multiple show use of the five-jet formation, Bernacchi said they spent time making sure it …
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