One crew member dead as Canadian forces' Snowbirds jet crashes in British Columbia

[webfact]

One crew member dead as Canadian forces' Snowbirds jet crashes in British Columbia

 

Royal Canadian Air Force Captain Jennifer Casey, who was killed in the crash of a jet from the Snowbirds aerobatics team in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada May 17, 2020, poses in an undated photograph. Royal Canadian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

 

(Reuters) - A jet from the Canadian air force's Snowbirds aerobatics team that was on a tour to lift spirits during the coronavirus outbreak crashed in Kamloops, British Columbia, on Sunday, killing one crew member and seriously injuring the other, defense officials said.

 

Video shot by a witness showed two of the team's Canadair Tutor single-engine aircraft taking off. One of the planes reared up almost immediately before plunging to the ground, exploding just after the pilot ejected.

 

"One member of the Canadian Forces' Snowbirds team has died and one has sustained serious injuries," the armed forces said on Twitter.

Witnesses and officials said earlier that at least one person was injured.

 

Officials in Kamloops - about 320 km (200 miles) northeast of Vancouver in the West Coast Canadian province - said the jet had hit a residential home, sparking a fire.

 

A photo posted by local television station CFJC showed at least one house on fire in the Brocklehurst area of Kamloops, a city with a population of more than 90,000.

 

Federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a tweet that he was deeply saddened by news of the crash.

 

It was the second recent accident involving the Snowbirds. One of the team's jets crashed into an unpopulated area last October before a show in Atlanta, after the pilot ejected.

 

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-18

 

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[pegman]

RIP RCAF Captain Jenn Casey. The other pilot ejected very close to the ground and landed on a house roof. Hopefully they recover.

[mikebike]

Condolences to all affected.

 

That said, it is way past time to end this anachronistic, expensive display of a military prowess in a time when it is obvious that drone planes are the future of military flight.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by mikebike

[Catoni]

The Canadian Tutor is a military training jet built back in the 1960’s.   They should be scrapped and recycled.

    They had their day. Canada needs a newer more up-to-date training jet and also more modern fighters. Canada’s F-18s are getting old. 

   Requiescat In Pace to the pilot. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Catoni
Correction

[Catoni]

4 hours ago, mikebike said:

Condolences to all affected.

 

That said, it is way past time to end this anachronistic, expensive display of a military prowess in a time when it is obvious that drone planes are the future of military flight.

 

 

       Speak for yourself. Airshows are amazing demonstrations and good PR for a country’s military. Don’t like them?  Stay home. The rest of us will go and have a good time. Accidents are rare. You probably still drive even though there is chance of a fatal accident. 

[Magenta408]

Chalk that up to SARS-COV-2 and tally that she died of Covid-19. I am starting to dislike the need to consider gender parity in important events such as this one. No room for mediocrity and she paid the price. Let's move on folks, nothing to see here, let's move on...

[Mac98]

The skill and dedication it takes to become a member of that team is lost not only to her country but to all that she would have taken on during her life. R.I.P.

[steve187]

1 hour ago, Magenta408 said:

Chalk that up to SARS-COV-2 and tally that she died of Covid-19. I am starting to dislike the need to consider gender parity in important events such as this one. No room for mediocrity and she paid the price. Let's move on folks, nothing to see here, let's move on...

nice post full of sorrow

 

RIP RCAF Captain Jennifer Casey, a sad loss for her family

Edited May 18, 2020 by steve187

[Stargeezr]

I enjoy watching all the airshow aircraft, from all countries. The snowbirds maybe

have the oldest jets, but still do a very good show. RIP to the young woman who

was killed, I wonder what job she was in, mechanic? I do know that all members

are very proud to get to join the snowbirds. This forum is so full of negative

posters, that I am not surprised to read, oh close them down, they are too old.

   Bah Humbug to you.

Geezer

[Stargeezr]

captain Jennifer Casey was a public liason Officer for the snow birds,

from Halifax NS. She will be missed.

Geezer

[evadgib]

The video shows the pair banging out relatively quickly but I guess we'll need to wait until the report is published to find out what went so wrong.

RIP to the deceased and condolence to her family and the RCAF.

[pineapple01]

The vid was rather scary, it happened that fast,

[pegman]

19 hours ago, Catoni said:

The Canadian Tutor is a military training jet built back in the 1960’s.   They should be scrapped and recycled.

    They had their day. Canada needs a newer more up-to-date training jet and also more modern fighters. Canada’s F-18s are getting old. 

   Requiescat In Pace to the pilot. 

There are better things we can spend our tax dollars on, such as health care.

[mikebike]

20 hours ago, Catoni said:

       Speak for yourself. Airshows are amazing demonstrations and good PR for a country’s military. Don’t like them?  Stay home. The rest of us will go and have a good time. Accidents are rare. You probably still drive even though there is chance of a fatal accident. 

Of course I am speaking for myself... that's what an opinion is. ????

 

I attended my first air show in 1967 with my RCAF uncle. A tradition which continued for a couple of decades. By the mid 80s it was already clear (to me, because I am speaking for myself ????) that they were an anachronism. Up until I left my home country I had the pleasure of seeing one of the last flying Lancaster's regularly over my home as it's base was a few kms away.

 

I have NO problem with private groups funding historical rebuilds and/or historical flights. Even stuff like Red Bull aero competitions are GREAT!

 

I DO have a big problem with relatively large govt funds being wasted on this type of display with questionable and obviously diminishing returns.

 

12yr olds want to be drone operators, not pilots these days, for the most part. It's only old f@rts and those with a family connection that really care anymore anyway.

Edited May 19, 2020 by mikebike

[pegman]

On May 18, 2020 at 6:41 AM, Magenta408 said:

Chalk that up to SARS-COV-2 and tally that she died of Covid-19. I am starting to dislike the need to consider gender parity in important events such as this one. No room for mediocrity and she paid the price. Let's move on folks, nothing to see here, let's move on...

So your saying men are too "mediocre" to fly these planes? It was RCAF  Capt. Richard MacDougalln in control. 

[Catoni]

22 hours ago, pegman said:

There are better things we can spend our tax dollars on, such as health care.

     In Canada health care is not a Federal responsibility. It’s a Provincial responsibility. Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. Tons of money already spent on it. 

   It comes to about $7,100.00 per year for every man, woman, child, and baby.

           Seems to be more than enough as long as they don’t waste it. 

     However, Defense IS a Federal responsibility and we are expected to pay our fair share for:

   1. Our membership and partnership in NATO.

   2.  Our partnership in NORAD.

   3.  Our defense and patrolling of our borders and the longest coast in the world.

   3.   The defense of our country from external threat.

   4.   The ability to help to respond together with our allies to any major threat from rogue tyrannical nations that may threaten us and the world.    

 

    Time for Canada to get some good new fighter/ground attack jets of the latest generation. 

    Personally I don’t like the idea of our pilots flying high performance jet fighters older than they are with airframes at the limit of their expected life. 

    But perhaps you feel comfortable with that huh ??

     

[Catoni]

21 hours ago, mikebike said:

Of course I am speaking for myself... that's what an opinion is. ????

 

I attended my first air show in 1967 with my RCAF uncle. A tradition which continued for a couple of decades. By the mid 80s it was already clear (to me, because I am speaking for myself ????) that they were an anachronism. Up until I left my home country I had the pleasure of seeing one of the last flying Lancaster's regularly over my home as it's base was a few kms away.

 

I have NO problem with private groups funding historical rebuilds and/or historical flights. Even stuff like Red Bull aero competitions are GREAT!

 

I DO have a big problem with relatively large govt funds being wasted on this type of display with questionable and obviously diminishing returns.

 

12yr olds want to be drone operators, not pilots these days, for the most part. It's only old f@rts and those with a family connection that really care anymore anyway.

The Canadian Snowbirds are a relatively small Air Force demonstration team as far as these things go. The government probably wastes more money on giving themselves pay raises and first class travel and paying for stupid Global Warming Alarmism and paying for stupid things like the study of the sex lives of tropical forest tree frogs in Central America than they do to keep the Snowbirds flying in their cheap 50 year old Tutor training jets. 

    We have a fully restored flying Avro Lancaster Bomber just thirty miles down the highway from me in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. I get to see it fly over my home several times each year and enjoy following it on Flight Radar 24.  You never forget the sound of those four big Merlin engines.

  https://youtu.be/CAnqbFiLbyM    Perhaps a few others only on display could be restored to flying condition someday. 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Catoni
Addition