One dead and pilot injured in Canadian Forces Snowbird crash

Video and images of the crash were distributed on multiple social media platforms. Video appears to show two people ejecting from the jet as it tumbled to the ground. Witnesses say one person was pulled from the roof of a home on a stretcher and placed into an ambulance.

Chelsy Gyger was across the street from the crash. She says she heard the jet impact the ground and ran outside to see the wreckage in the yard of a neighbouring house. “We went running across the street and the plane and the house was on fire,” said Gyger. Debris from the crash was thrown into a nearby house. “Oh God, it was just chaos,” she added.

Zion Chong witnessed the crash from the Kamloops Airport.

“The planes just lifted up and they were flying low and then they started pulling up after they gained some altitude. One plane started to turn left at a sharp angle and then started dropping (like a stunt) nose down. After dropping for a second, I saw a small explosion and saw the pilot eject then the plane just drop and exploded.”

Kamloops firefighter at scene of crash – Photo credit Elwood Delaney

City of Kamloops officials say Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) crews arrived on scene in minutes and were joined by the Kamloops Airport “crash truck”. KFR is working with several other agencies including the RCMP, BC Ambulance, airport authorities, and Military representatives. KFR Chief Mike Adams confirmed only one house was affected by the fire created from the crash. He said no one was injured in the fire.

Snowbird staff on scene of fire — Photo credit to Elwood Delaney

Marni Capostinsky lives across the street from the crash site and was out on the deck when she heard the plane getting closer.

“We ran out under the cover to look and saw something black coming towards us, everyone hit the deck it was so loud,” she said.

Capostinsky said there were large flames flaring on and off, and a strong toxic smell filled the air.

She said her son immediately ran out with a hose and neighbours tried to help before first responders arrived.

“It was really scary but good to see everyone trying to come together,” Capostinsky said.

Kenny Hinds, who lives in a house seven doors down from the crash site, said it looked like the living room of the house where the crash occurred was on fire.

Hinds had been watching the aircraft after hearing them take off, and said he was able to see the crash.

“I heard ‘bang, bang,’ and just as I looked before it left my view from the house beside me, I saw the Snowbird going straight down,” he said. “I saw what looked like a parachute about, say, 20 feet 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.”

Rose Miller lives directly across the street from where the plane hit. She’d watched the Snowbirds arrive on Saturday, and went to her front window when she heard the roar of jet engines.

Miller said she heard a loud bang and wondered whether it might be a sonic boom. Then she watched the plane smash onto the ground.

“It looked to me like it was mostly on the road, but it just exploded. It went everywhere,” she said. “In fact, I got a big huge piece in my backyard. The cops said it was the ejection seat.”

Miller said a couple in their early 70s lives in the home. Both are OK, she said, noting she’d spoken with them after they were evacuated to a nearby street.

The woman had been in the basement while the man was behind the house.

Miller a said section of roof on a nearby street has been covered up.

The Snowbirds aerobatics team was scheduled to make a trip from Kamloops to Vernon today as part of Operation Inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Operation Inspiration started in Nova Scotia earlier this month and features the team’s signature nine-jet formation. It was aimed at boosting morale as Canadians continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheduled start of Sunday’s activities was delayed by rain and low visibility. Operation Inspiration followed a similar initiative south of the border, where the U.S. military’s own flight demonstration teams have been flying in honour of front-line workers and first responders.

Members of the Snowbirds team with RCMP at crash scene – Photo credit to Elwood Delaney

Sunday’s crash follows the downing of another Snowbird in the U.S. state of Georgia last October, where the team was scheduled to perform in an air show.

Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier sustained minor injuries when he ejected from the plane, which crashed into a farmer’s field. No one else was hurt.

A preliminary report on last year’s Snowbird crash blamed engine failure, though military investigators had yet to identify the cause of the problem.

The Snowbirds have performed at air shows across Canada and the U.S. for decades and are considered a key tool for raising awareness about — and recruiting for — the air force. Eleven aircraft are used during shows, with nine flying and two kept as spares.

The air force obtained its Tutor jets in 1963 and has used them in air demonstrations since 1971. Prior to Sunday’s crash, seven pilots and one passenger had been killed and several aircraft had been lost over the course of the Snowbirds’ history.

by Dori Modney with files from CFJC and the Canadian Press

One dead and pilot injured in Canadian Forces Snowbird crash

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