One person has been reported dead after a U.S. Navy Blue Angels jet crashed following takeoff during a practice flight around 3 p.m. Thursday, according to a county fire dispatcher. Larry Farley, Rutherford County fire chief, said his dispatchers were told one person was killed. It is unclear if it was the pilot or a bystander.... A fireball and thick black plume of smoke from the crash could be seen just beyond the runway at Smyrna Airport and from Interstate 24. Helicopters circled the area, and first responders cordoned off nearby areas and an apartment complex with bright yellow police tape. Jennifer Elliott was in her yard watching the Blue Angels practice. She went inside just before the crash and said she felt the explosion at their house, which is about a mile from the Smyrna airport. ”It sounded like car crashed into my house,” she said. “Everything shook.”
The Blue Angels were practicing in a relatively unpopulated rural area and only one person was killed. Let's take a moment to imagine how many people would die if a Blue Angel jet crashed in a heavily populated area.
