U.S. Navy Suspends Blue Angels’ member

U.S. Navy Suspends Blue Angels’ member

By Dario Leone
Feb 14 2019
Share this article

The Blue Angel suspension follows Tuesday’s unrelated announcement about the Air Force’s firing of Capt. Zoe “SiS” Kotnik

A member belonging to the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron has been suspended pending the findings in an ongoing investigation that kicked off in late January, according to U.S. Navy officials.

Navy Lt. Michelle Tucker, spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Air Training, told Navy Times that the probe involves unspecified allegations of misconduct that came to light last month.

“Allegations of misconduct are taken very seriously by the Navy but it would be inappropriate at this time to comment on an ongoing investigation,” Tucker said.

Tucker didn’t say whether the member of the Blue Angels is a tactical aviator or part of the support and maintenance crew — but the removed person does not appear to be a “numbered” pilot. The “numbered” pilots in fact are the six U.S. Naval Aviators — currently five from the Navy and one from the Marine Corps ― who perform in the airshows.

However the team continues to conduct winter training at Naval Air Facility El Centro for the upcoming show season, although Commanders have halted this unnamed person’s activities with the Blue Angels.

The Navy annually counts 16 officers who volunteer for the team and they’re supported by nearly 100 enlisted sailors and Marines. Alternating crews of about 45 team members travel to each airshow, according to the service.

Tucker said that the investigation is not linked to the Jan. 22 emergency landing of an unnamed Blue Angels pilot at El Centro.

Noteworthy this Blue Angels suspension follows Tuesday’s unrelated announcement about the Air Force’s firing of Capt. Zoe “SiS” Kotnik, the first female pilot to head USAF F-16 Viper demonstration team.

Her relief on Jan. 11, 2109 raised eyebrows because the Air Force had announced only two weeks earlier that Kotnick would take command of the Vipers.

Photo credit: U.S. Navy


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices