Photo: CFJC Today Kamloops

By Canadian Press/CFJC Today Kamloops

Snowbird Crash

One dead in Canadian Forces Snowbird crash in Kamloops

May 17, 2020 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — A Canadian Forces Snowbird jet has crashed into the Brocklehurst residential area in Kamloops. The jet had just taken off from the Kamloops airport around 11:40 am Sunday morning.

One member of the Snowbirds team was killed in the crash while another suffered serious injuries.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has identified Captain Jennifer Casey as the person killed. She served as the communications specialist with the Snowbirds. Captain Richard MacDougall survived the crash with serious injuries.

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.

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Chelsy Gyger was across the street from the crash. She says she heard the jet impacting 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.

(WARNING: Some viewers may find this video disturbing. Courtesy: Twitter / @supermario_47 / @AirportWebcams)

Zion Chong witnessed the crash from the Kamloops Airport. Chong told EverythingGP’s sister station in Kamloops, CFJC Today:

“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.”

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.

In a late afternoon news conference, Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says the crash “shakes us to our core.” He acknowledged the joy the Snowbirds had brought to Kamloops one day earlier when the team passed over the city as part of its Operation Inspiration national tour.

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.

(With files from James Peters, CFJC Today)