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Blue Angels Put Air Shows On Pause After Deadly Crash

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Navy has announced that its elite flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, has canceled upcoming performances in New York and Ohio following the death of one of its pilots during a crash outside Nashville.

In a news release Tuesday, the Navy said that the team is in "operational pause" with its 2016 air show season following the death of Capt. Jeff Kuss. The 32-year-old married father of two was killed on June 2 when his F/A-18 jet crashed just after takeoff while he was practicing for an air show.

The team canceled airs shows scheduled on June 11-12 in Syracuse and in Dayton on June 18-19.

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The Blue Angels fly over graduation ceremonies at the U.S. Naval Academy May 22, 2015 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Kuss was killed the same day a pilot with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in Colorado but ejected safely.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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