Canada jet crashes during flyover
One killed when aerobatic performance meant to boost morale turns tragic
A Canadian aerobatic jet crashed into a British Columbia neighbourhood during a flyover intended to boost morale during the pandemic, killing one crew member, seriously injuring another and setting a house on fire. Video appeared to show the plane’s crew ejecting.
The crash left debris scattered across the neighbourhood near the airport in the city of Kamloops on Sunday.
The Snowbirds are Canada’s equivalent of the US Air Force Thunderbirds or US Navy’s Blue Angels.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Capt Jennifer Casey, who served as a spokesperson for the Snowbirds, and the injuring of Capt Richard MacDougall, one of the team’s coordinators and pilot of the aircraft who survived landing on the roof of a house.
“For the past two weeks, the Snowbirds have been flying across the country to lift up Canadians during these difficult times.” Trudeau said in a statement.
“Their flyovers across the country put a smile on the faces of Canadians everywhere and make us proud.”
The morale boosting mission is now on indefinite hold and the fleet of Tutor jets has been placed on operational pause.
Video posted to Twitter appears to show two Snowbirds taking off from Kamloops Airport.
One of the aircraft subsequently climbed into the sky before rolling over and plunging to the ground.
The clip appears to show at least one person ejecting from the plane before it disappears behind a stand of trees and an explosion is heard.
Resident Kenny Hinds, who lives near the crash site and had been watching the aircraft, said he saw “the Snowbird going straight down”.
“I saw what looked like a parachute about, say, 20ft (6m) over the house, and it disappeared from sight, and the parachute hadn’t fully deployed yet – it was still sort of straight up and down,” he said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the cause of the crash is under investigation.