Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis Was With Team For Two Years

The US Navy is mourning the loss of Blue Angel pilot and Pittsfield, MA native Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Davis, the pilot lost in Saturday's crash near MCAS Beaufort during a performance.

As ANN reported in Real Time, the six pilots were conducting a maneuver involving all six planes joining from behind the crowd to form a Delta triangle, said Lt. Cmdr. Garrett D. Kasper, Blue Angels spokesman. One plane did not rejoin the formation.

"Our squadron and the entire US Navy are grieving the loss of a great American, a great Naval officer, and a great friend," said Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Walley, a Blue Angel pilot.

Davis was a 1996 graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

He served in the Navy for 11 years, eight as a fighter pilot. He flew 26 combat missions in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, according to The (Berkshire) Eagle.

Davis spoke with The Eagle in August 2005, shortly after being accepted into the elite Navy flying team.

Becoming a Blue Angels pilot, he said, had "been a private dream I've kept to myself" for some time.

He described himself as "well-rounded and self-driven," and said he hoped to one day bring the Blue Angels to Pittsfield, "to show the Navy colors to the home crowd." 

Candidates present themselves and then are screened and chosen by the Blue Angels themselves. It typically takes pilots two or three times before being selected. Davis was selected after his first bid.

A family friend, Tom McGill, told The Eagle Davis' parents were at the air show when their son's jet crashed. McGill called Davis "a fine young man. I would've been proud to have him as my own son."

Kasper said all possible causes of the crash are under investigation, and it could take at least three weeks for an official cause to be released.

The last Blue Angel crash that killed a pilot was in 1999, when a pilot and crewmate were killed while practicing for air shows with the five other Blue Angels jets at a base in Georgia.

Saturday's show was at the beginning of the team's flight season, and more than 100,000 people were expected to attend. Based at Pensacola Naval Air Station, FL, the Blue Angels recently celebrated the team's 60th anniversary.

The 2007 team has a new flight leader and two new pilots; Blue Angel pilots traditionally serve two-year rotations.

Kasper said the team would return to Florida on Sunday afternoon, and that the team would continue its performance schedule.

"We will regroup," he said.

FMI: www.blueangels.navy.mil