Halifax motorcade honours victim of Snowbirds crash
HALIFAX• A procession honouring the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team member killed in a recent plane crash began under blue skies in Halifax Sunday evening, as the remains of the young officer remembered for her bright smile arrived in her hometown.
Close friends and family members wearing black and the official Snowbirds colours of red and white laid flowers on Capt. Jennifer Casey’s casket during a homecoming ceremony on the tarmac near Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
The 35- year- old military public affairs officer and Halifax native died in the crash of a Snowbirds Tutor jet in a residential area of Kamloops, B.C., last Sunday.
The national aerobatics team was on a cross-country tour to boost residents’ spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Gov. Gen. Julie Payette wore face masks as they stood at the airport ceremony along with dozens of military members.
Payette said the Snowbirds do a risky job and said she was proud to be in Halifax honouring Casey.
“The fact that this happened during Operation Inspiration, where they were going around cheering us Canadians, is even more tragic,” Payette said after the ceremony.
A bagpiper played while military members carried Casey ’ s casket from the CC-130J Hercules that had taken off from Abbotsford, B.C., Sunday morning after an earlier private ceremony with her Snowbirds teammates.
A police- escorted motorcade then left the Halifax airport to transport Casey’s remains through the city to Atlantic Funeral Home.
Spectators were encouraged to wear red and white, and to respect social distancing measures while observing the procession.
Early in the procession, footage showed supporters parked along Highway 102, many standing beside their vehicles holding Canadian and Nova Scotian flags.
In the week since the crash, Casey’s family have said she possessed a beautiful smile and a “positively infectious personality” that made her the ideal person to carry out a mission aimed at stirring hope during a time of uncertainty.
Friends and former colleagues have remembered her as upbeat, professional and enthusiastic with lasting pride about her hometown.
Casey ’ s “final journey home to Halifax” began Sunday morning, according to a tweet posted from the official Snowbirds account.
The Snowbirds thanked Canadians and singled out the residents of Kamloops and local First Nations for supporting Casey, the squadron and Capt. Richard Macdougall, who survived the crash with injuries the military has said are not life-threatening.
“Your love and support is very deeply appreciated, and will never be forgotten,” the tweet read.
Casey earned bachelor’s degrees in arts and journalism from Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College in Halifax, as well a master’s of interdisciplinary studies from Royal Roads University in Victoria.
Before joining the Armed Forces, she had a career as a radio reporter, anchor and producer in Halifax and Belleville, Ont.
Casey began her military career as a direct entry officer in August 2014 and was assigned to the Snowbirds in 2018.
Operation Inspiration has been suspended while the team’s jets are subject to an “operational pause,” the team’s commander said last week.