Married father of two Blue Angels pilot killed when his plane nose dived into the ground in airshow training exercise

**Blue Angels fighter jet crashed around 3pm on Thursday afternoon**
**The pilot of the plane has been identified as Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss who died in the crash**
**His grandfather said he had dreamed to fly planes since he was a child**
**Kuss was a married father of two young children from Durango, Colorado**
**He joined the Blue Angels in 2014 and had accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and 175 carrier-arrested landings**
**The Blue Angels were practicing for a show on Saturday and Sunday**
**Member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in Colorado Thursday**
**That pilot ejected safely from his jet into a nearby field**

A Blue Angels pilot who died when his F/A-18 fighter jet crashed near Nashville, Tennessee, had wanted to fly since he was a child, relatives said.
The pilot killed Thursday has been identified as Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, his family confirmed to

It’s hard to put into words right now, but it’s beautiful that a person can live and die engaged in their life’s pursuits,’ said his grandfather, Dolph Kuss, reached at his home in Durango, Colorado

This was his dream since he was a child, to be an aviator, a flier.’
He choked back tears and said he was struggling to gather his thoughts.

A Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet pilot is dead following a crash (pictured) on Thursday near Nashville, Tennessee

Officials said the pilot, Marine Captain Jeff Kuss, was killed during take off for an afternoon practice session

The pilot has been identified as Captain Jeff Kuss (pictured), who joined the Blue Angels in 2014, and was the father of two young children

Kuss’s family confirmed the decorated pilot (pictured) died in the fiery crash to News Channel 5 on Thursday

‘It’s hard to celebrate someone’s life in this way,’ he said. ‘It is certainly a shock. Everything in life has its dangers, I guess.’

Kuss was a married father of two young children from Durango and joined the Blue Angels in 2014. He had accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and 175 carrier-arrested landings.

It was the second fighter jet crash of the day for the military’s elite fighter jet performance teams. A member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed in Colorado after a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation where President Barack Obama spoke. That pilot ejected safely into a field.

Harry Gill, the town manager in Smyrna just outside Nashville, said Thursday that the Blue Angels pilot was the only casualty and no civilians on the ground were hurt.

The Navy said in a news release that the pilot was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session for a weekend air show performance when the crash happened.

Five other F/A-18 jets landed safely moments after the crash.

This May 19, 2016, photo shows Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss at an air show in Lynchburg, Virginia, just days before he died

The Navy says Kuss (pictured, right) was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session when the crash happened