Snowbirds’ ejection seats have needed upgrading since 2016, military confirms
The Canadian military knew in 2016 that the ejection seats in Snowbirds aircraft needed to be upgraded, but it is still only in the early stages of modernizing that system.
The Royal Canadian Air Force has now started a project to upgrade the parachutes on the ejection seats, the Canadian military confirmed.
Capt. Jennifer Casey, the public affairs officer with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team, died on May 17 after the Snowbirds aircraft in which she was a passenger crashed in Kamloops, B.C. Video of the incident appears to show Casey and Capt. Richard Macdougall, the pilot of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft, eject from the plane shortly before it slammed into the ground. Macdougall survived with serious injuries.
A Canadian Forces flight safety team has focused its investigation into the crash on a possible bird strike as well as on the performance of the aircraft’s escape system, the team noted in a statement.
Issues with the ejection seat system on board the CT-114 aircraft were identified in 2015. Canadian Forces tests evaluating the performance of the system were finished in 2016, the military confirmed.
“Based on those results, it was determined that the most effective way to improve the system would be through a parachute upgrade program, which will identify and assess candidate canopy designs, perform testing for airworthiness clearance, and eventually implement a new parachute system in the CT114,” the Canadian Forces noted in an email. “We are still very early in the project.”
No information was provided on when the upgrade would be completed or how much it would cost. Military sources say the cost is relatively minor.
No explanation was provided about why action on the parachute upgrade was not started when the problem was identified four years ago.
A witness at the crash scene claimed that Casey’s parachute did not open.
The Canadian Forces noted in its email to a newspaper that since the flight safety investigation was underway it would not be appropriate to comment any further.
Currently, the CT-114 Tutors use Weber CL-41 ejection seats. The Tutor has two ejection seats that are “individually activated,” which means that each seat is ejected when its handgrip is pulled, the Canadian Forces noted. The seats were upgraded in 2003 in order to improve the seat and occupant separation during ejection, the military added.
Casey was with the Snowbirds since 2018. She joined the Canadian Armed Forces in August 2014 as a direct entry officer. Prior to joining she spent several years working in broadcast radio as a reporter, anchor, and producer in both Halifax and Belleville, Ont.
Macdougall landed on a roof after ejecting from the aircraft. Images
on social media show two men helping the pilot lying on a roof. There is a parachute visible. Kamloops firefighters used a ladder truck to get the pilot down and he was taken to hospital.
The Snowbirds flew over Kamloops the day before the crash as part of Operation Inspiration, which had the Canadian Forces team doing flyovers over communities to boost morale during the new coronavirus pandemic.
Macdougall and Casey took off from Kamloops on May 17 and had planned to fly to Comox, B.C. Two Snowbirds aircraft took off from Kamloops Airport at the same time that day and the plane being flown by Macdougall climbed steeply and then went into a dive, video of the incident shows.
The CT-114 Tutor fleet has been placed on an operational pause and Operation Inspiration has been delayed indefinitely, according to the military.
Last year the aerobatic team was temporarily grounded by the Royal Canadian Air Force after a crash of one of its aircraft near Atlanta, Ga. The crash happened on Oct. 13. Snowbird pilot Capt. Kevin Domon-grenier was forced to eject from his Tutor aircraft shortly before the team’s performance in Atlanta, the team stated at the time. Domon-grenier suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital as a precaution following the ejection. The Tutor jet crashed into a farmer’s field and there were no injuries on the ground.