Despite crashes, OC Air Show still a go
The show will go on.
Despite a crash of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aircraft June 2, the popular acrobatic flying team will perform at the annual OC Air Show later this month, official said.
Maj. Alex Turner, the pilot, walked away from the crash in Colorado. But an unrelated crash the same day in Tennessee claimed the life of a pilot with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, another acrobatic demonstration squadron that headlined the air show last year.
Blue Angels Capt. Jeff Kuss was killed in a Blue Angels crash in Tennessee, the squadrons first fatal crash in a decade. Kuss traveled to Ocean City for the air show a year ago and was well-known to some.
READ MORE:Ahead of OC Air Show, Air Force Thunderbird jets crash
“He was an American hero, and I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to get to know him personally," OC Air Show Bryan Lilley said in a statement.
"I know everyone who had a chance to meet him has been touched by such an amazing individual.”
The air show will take place June 18-19 in Ocean City. Demonstrations run from noon to 4 p.m., with major acts performing both days.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and US Navy F-18F Super Hornet will also be featured.
There also has been no change to the Thunderbirds' performance at the Rhode Island National Guard Open House on June 11-12.
Kuss last year flew three VIP guests on a 45-minute ride from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County, including Salisbury resident Jeff Merritt and Emily Lampa of WMDT-TV. The Blue Angels staged at Wallops during the Air Show.
Another guest Kuss flew was restaurant owner Ron Wolff, also a member of the Accomack County Board of Supervisors.
Kuss, a Colorado native, was in the Marine Corps but flew with the Navy.
"Because of that, we operate very closely together with the Navy," he told two Delmarva Media Group reporters in 2014, when he also performed at the beach.
"I was (deployed) out on an aircraft carrier. Most of us spent time out there. We work hand-in-hand all throughout our careers so there's a tight relationship there. The Blue Angels like to represent not only the Navy forces but the Marine Corps forces, so they'll draw folks from our side as well."
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