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Police to escort body of Blue Angels pilot

SMYRNA, Tenn. (AP) — The body of an elite fighter jet pilot who was killed in a crash near Nashville Thursday has been flown home.

The Tennessean reports that a Navy C-130 “Fat Albert” plane flew out of Smyrna Saturday morning with the body of Capt. Jeff Kuss. People braved the rain, some carrying American flags, others wiping tears away as a police procession guided a white hearse from Murfreesboro to the Smyrna Airport, which are just southeast of Nashville.

In this March 31, 2016 photo, Blue Angels Pilot Captain Jeff Kuss is interviewed at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., prior to an Blue Angels show. A Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet crashed Thursday, June 2, 2016 near Nashville, killing the pilot just days before a weekend air show performance, officials said. A U.S. official said the pilot was Kuss.(Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP) MIAMI OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
In this March 31, 2016 photo, Blue Angels Pilot Captain Jeff Kuss is interviewed at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., prior to an Blue Angels show. A Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet crashed Thursday, June 2, 2016 near Nashville, killing the pilot just days before a weekend air show performance, officials said. A U.S. official said the pilot was Kuss.(Rob O’Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP) MIAMI OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

One who watched the procession was JoyKarin Winter.

“I just think of his kids,” Winter said, wiping away a tear.

Karese and Joseph Lamattina participate in a moment of silence for Blue Angel pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss at Lee Victory Recreational Area after Cuss crashed his fighter jet practicing for the Smyrna Air Show Thursday June 2, 2016, in Smyrna, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
Karese and Joseph Lamattina participate in a moment of silence for Blue Angel pilot Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss at Lee Victory Recreational Area after Cuss crashed his fighter jet practicing for the Smyrna Air Show Thursday June 2, 2016, in Smyrna, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

Kuss, 32, was a member of the Blue Angels, an elite fighter jet performance team, and a married father of two. He was practicing for an air show when his F/A-18 jet crashed just after takeoff. The incident took place on the same day that a member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, another elite jet performance team, crashed in Colorado after a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation where President Barack Obama spoke. That pilot was able to eject safely.

Smoke billows from the crash of a Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet in Smyrna, Tenn., Thursday, June 2, 2016. Officials said the pilot, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, was killed. The Navy said in a news release that Kuss was taking off during an afternoon practice session for an air show when the crash happened. (AP Photo/Becca Cullison-Burgess)
Smoke billows from the crash of a Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet in Smyrna, Tenn., Thursday, June 2, 2016. Officials said the pilot, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, was killed. The Navy said in a news release that Kuss was taking off during an afternoon practice session for an air show when the crash happened. (AP Photo/Becca Cullison-Burgess)

Both incidents are under investigation.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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