US Navy 'Blue Angels' demo team jet crashes
Washington,
Apr
22:
A
jet
fighter
flown
by
the
US
Navy
Blue
Angels
demonstration
team
crashed
today
in
South
Carolina
eyewitnesses
said.
There
was
no
word
on
the
fate
of
the
pilot.
The
show
in
Beaufort,
South
Carolina
was
attended
by
thousands
of
spectators.
''They
were
doing
maneuvers
and
generally
when
the
planes
loop
around
they
cross
the
runway
and
then
turn
around
and
basically
when
they
turned
around
we
saw
a
cloud
of
black
smoke,''
said
Brett
Hindshaw,
a
South
African
who
was
visiting
Beaufort
for
the
air
show.
''We
started
counting
and
we
saw
five
aircraft.
Four
of
them
landed
but
the
lead
pilot
circled
over
the
accident
sight
and
then
one
or
two
military
helicopters
took
off
and
went
in
that
direction,''
he
told
Reuters
by
telephone.
''Then
all
the
ambulances
and
military
fire
trucks
stationed
along
the
runway
took
off.''
Witnesses
said
one
of
the
six
Blue
Angels
jets
disappeared
as
the
planes
flew
low
in
close
formation
behind
a
grove
of
trees.
One
witness,
Fred
Yelinek,
told
CNN
the
jet
went
down
in
a
high-density
residential
area
and
debris
hit
at
least
one
house
and
cars,
but
there
was
no
sign
of
injuries
to
people
on
the
ground.
He
said
there
was
a
''huge
fireball''
at
the
crash
site.
''It's
behind
the
tree
line
behind
the
naval
air
station,
away
from
the
ocean,''
said
Hindshaw.
''We
can
hear
sirens
in
the
distance,
fire
trucks
and
stuff
beyond
the
trees.''
The
Blue
Angels,
based
in
Pensacola,
Florida,
fly
Boeing
F/A-18
Hornets.
Reuters