Blue Angels Crash!!!

Unfortunately, today was a bad day for the aircraft community and its ATS forum followers!

Lt. Cmdr Kevis Davis, call sign "Kojak" died today at MCAS Beaufort when his No. 6 F/A 18 Hornet crashed attemtping to rejoin the Blue Angels formation. No reason for the crash has been released yet, but a bird strike appears to be a likely possibility.

My heart and thoughts go out to Kevin Davis and his family and friends. God Bless you Kevin!!!

www.beaufortgazette.com...

Peace and God Bless to him...........Mondo

An off duty Air Traffic Controller reported that birds have always been a hazard to air traffic in that area, so it's pretty likely that it was a bird hit.

My thoughts and prayers are with the mans family and friends..
Here is a Psalm prayer for the deceased....
PSALM 50/51(septugiant)
Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences..............
Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; ............
“Sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow” (Psalm 50/51:7).
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world
and all that dwell in it (Psalm 24:1).
You are dust and to dust you
shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

IX
helen

helen670,

Yes, it is a tragic thing and thank you for the words that you posted. My heart goes out to him as well, his family, and friends!

It is sounding like an FOD (Foreign Object Debris) situation...probably a bird in an intake that caused engine failure resulting in the crash!? I would imagine that Lt. Cmdr Davis stayed with the aircraft to try and keep it away from as many civilians as possible. The F/A 18 he was flying has an ejection seat that enables the pilot to eject from any altitude, even while on the ground, but he did not make that attempt it seems. A true hero all the way down in my opinion...protecting us the entire time is what is on these aviators minds!!

Peace, Mondo

[edit on 22-4-2007 by Mondogiwa]

High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

I just wanted to say when I read about this today. I thought how sad and terrible it was. My heart goes out to his family.

Yeah.. the death of a pilot, esp a erobatic team pilot can be crushing for the confidence and morale of the whole team.
Hope they recover from it soon.

thoughts go out to pilots family
Lt. Cmdr Kevis Davis, call sign "Kojak" RIP

CNN.com has a video of it. It almost looks like he stalled. He comes from the opposite direction as the other five, pulls a hard bank to come in behind them, and the plane falls sideways behind the trees.