Fallen Blue Angel pilot has local ties

The Blue Angel pilot who died on Thursday in a crash is being remembered Friday by his family here in Idaho. Jeff Kuss’ aunt and uncle live in Idaho Falls.

Steve and Diana Martin are mourning the loss of their nephew.

The crash is still under investigation, but the Martins are proud to call their nephew a hero.

It was a wonderful sight to the people in Tennessee watching six U.S. Blue Angels in flight, but it turned into a devastating view – seeing Jeff Kuss’ No. 6 plane crash.

“Three o’clock when I heard that a Blue Angel (had crashed). My heart just sunk,” said Diana Martin.

Many are calling Kuss a hero.

“He had enough elevation where he would have had ample time to eject, but in the surrounding area of the airport where they were flying out of, there were some apartment complexes, there were some service stations, a little strip mall, and neighborhoods,” said Steven Martin. Diana adds,”Yes there was one lady on the TV that said he is a hero, he saved a lot of lives.” “He rode it to the ground,” said Steven.

Kuss touched hearts all over the United States as a pilot serving his country and as a teacher when he invited people in his jet.

Kuss was one of seven hand-picked Blue Angel pilots, and had dreams of flying since he was little.

“It’s amazing how that’s what he wanted to do, the need for speed. He died doing what he wanted to do, serving his country,” said Diana.

His family is in shock but knew Jeff loved his country and pledged his life to it.

He served in Afghanistan as a second lieutenant in the Marines. Kuss joined the elite acrobatic Blue Angels team in 2014.

“His wife and his two children were his life, along with flying,” said Steven.

The family is trying to decide where they may want to bury him: in his hometown of Durango, Colorado or in Arlington National Cemetery. Now they anxiously wait as the investigation continues.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are scheduled to have an air show in Idaho Falls next year, on July 22 and 23.