Captain Jeff Kuss greets the media and guests gathered for the arrival of the Blue Angels at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base on Thursday. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

SHARE This photo was taken moments after the crash of a Blue Angel jet outside the Smyrna Airport on Thursday afternoon (Photo: Becca Cullison-Burgess / FOR THE TENNESSEAN) A Blackhawk helicopter hovers over the scene in Smyrna where eyewitnesses said a U.S. Navy Blue Angels aircraft crashed about 3 p.m. Thursday. (Photo: Aldo Amato / Daily News Journal) U.S. Navy Blue Angels pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss (Photo: Government photo via The Tennessean)

By Nancy De Gennaro and Stacey Barchenger, USA TODAY NETWORK, The Tennessean

Six elite military jets of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight team roared over Middle Tennessee on Thursday, but the cheers from fans on the ground in just hours turned to wails.

“Oh no, no, no, God bless his soul.”

Pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss was killed Thursday when his jet crashed at 3:01 p.m. just off Smyrna Airport, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kuss and five of his colleagues in matching blue jets were in the air practicing for the Great Tennessee Airshow this weekend.

The fatal crash was the first in nearly a decade involving the Navy’s acrobatic performance jets, whose flights are meant to showcase pride in the military. Local and federal investigators rushed to the scene looking for the cause. The community mourned the 32-year-old pilot, husband and father of two.

Continue reading at The Tennessean, a News Sentinel partner.