Thursday, 4:30 PM
Navy Blue Angel pilot from Pittsfield killed in crash
By James Vaznis, GLOBE STAFF
A 32-year-old US Navy Blue Angel pilot, who spent his youth in Pittsfield and Reading, died in an accident at an air show in South Carolina on Saturday.
Lt. Kevin Davis was flying an F/A-18A Hornet in the final minutes of the show about 4 p.m. when he crashed three miles outside the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C. He was attempting to join the five other jets for a delta formation in preparation for the last aerial maneuver. The other planes landed safely moments later.
At least one person on the ground was taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Some houses were damaged. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Davis, whose nickname was Kojack, joined the Blue Angels two years ago and had been a member of the US Navy since 1996. He was a graduate of the Navy's "TOPGUN" weapons school, and served extended tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf. He also was a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Davis spent most of his youth in Pittsfield and later moved with his family to Reading, where he played football and graduated from Reading Memorial High School in 1992.
His success in joining the Blue Angels was a point of pride in Pittsfield, a community in which the Davis family kept close ties. Davis' father, John, was a high school principal and superintendent in Pittsfield before moving to Eastern Massachusetts in the 1980s.
"The community is obviously shocked" about his death, said John Kreiger, who worked as an assistant superintendent when Davis' father led Pittsfield schools.
Kreiger later added, "He was doing what he wanted to do, and it's tragic how he died, but ... you have to admire his accomplishments in too short of a life."
Davis' family could not be reached for comment.
