Snowbirds/Snowbird crash

[Catri]

Rest in Peace Capt. Casey. I pray for peace for her loved ones, for the entire Snowbirds team and the RCAF family at large.

[normaM]

so young

[nepal]

Normal takeoff, but as another poster mentioned, in one video a faint engine burst can be heard near the end of the runway, then pilot likely immediately used remaining speed to pull up to get height to return to the runway, but it then wing-stalled and spun-in due to lack of speed, while trying to make the turn back. The alternative would be to eject/ditch straight ahead, but where! Could have been a bird strike near end of runway, or compressor failure. One video does show a large bird over the end of the runway, and other birds can be heard nearby. Engine failure right after liftoff, is the most difficult situation to deal with.

It seems the highly skilled pilot made a heroic effort to return to the runway, but a very difficult task with little speed and altitude to work with.
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[gardengirl]

Such a sad day.
I remember seeing the Snowbirds for the first time when I was about 6 years old. They were performing at the Kelowna Regatta, along with the jet boats.
I have seen them many times since then. It is always thrilling, even when they are just doing a fly past.
I used to work close to the airport and you always knew who it was when you heard them.

Each time there has been an accident, there has been talk of retiring the planes. I do understand that. Regardless of the maintenance done, they are old planes. I imagine that conversation will come up again.

I have mixed feelings about the possibility of ending the program. I know it is basically PR and probably costs a lot to maintain, at the same time, it is one of the few things that makes me feel truly patriotic when I see it.
We Canadians are not flag wavers as a rule, but the Snowbirds always gets to me.

[Urbane]

Sad but at least it's good to hear that the injuries the pilot sustained are not life-threatening. It's good to know as well that the residents of the home weren't injured but very sad that there was a fatality.

I think it would be the wrong move to give up on the Snowbirds but I have to agree with Green Barbarian that it's time to upgrade the planes. Using single engine planes doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

[rookie314]

Sad but at least it's good to hear that the injuries the pilot sustained are not life-threatening. It's good to know as well that the residents of the home weren't injured but very sad that there was a fatality.

I think it would be the wrong move to give up on the Snowbirds but I have to agree with Green Barbarian that it's time to upgrade the planes. Using single engine planes doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

Sad but at least it's good to hear that the injuries the pilot sustained are not life-threatening. It's good to know as well that the residents of the home weren't injured but very sad that there was a fatality.

I think it would be the wrong move to give up on the Snowbirds but I have to agree with Green Barbarian that it's time to upgrade the planes. Using single engine planes doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

Google Lethbrige Airshow F18 crash.

[Queen K]

NBC News! The vid!


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/cana ... e-n1208961

[Urban Cowboy]

Although I do enjoy watching air displays, there have been so many deaths resulting from that particular form of entertainment that I too wonder if it’s time to retire such shows. Particularly from our armed forces. Because, as a mother, I know I wouldn't want MY child to suffer such an unnecessary death.

I get where you're coming from, but remember this is a high risk assignment, one that the members fought hard to get, and really in the end they encountered an unfortunate set of circumstances which cost them their lives, but no more so than an auto accident victim, a chance every driver takes each time they start their car.

There have been eight casualties, but how does that compare to motor vehicle deaths? My guess is they are safer in the skies.

Insofar as unnecessary deaths go, what about dying playing hockey, or football, or skiing, snowboarding, skydiving, auto racing, they all come with risk, and by your metric could easily be considered unnecessary. Should those all be ceased as well?

[The Green Barbarian]

Bruce Springsteen's son is a firefighter in New Jersey. He has a rich dad but he's choosing a dangerous profession anyway. It would be great if we could just put kids in bubble wrap their whole lives, but in the end we have to support their dreams. As hard as that is sometimes, and as sad as the consequences sometimes are.

[nepal]

A cockpit perspective
This is a ejection from a CT-155 during a engine failure from a bird strike @ Moose Jaw


They lost the engine at about 235 knots which may have been a bit faster than the CT114 was flying at that point in flight in todays crash.

oldtrucker. Very good engine failure video example you provided here of what may have happened in Kamloops, but perhaps with ejection delay at Kamloops while helping passenger commit to eject. It looks like he tried his best to use his speed to gain height to return to the runway, but wing-stalled on the turn back. He was thinking in split seconds and almost got it turned around, a heroic effort, by an obviously very skilled pilot. Recovery from an engine failure at that stage of takeoff is extremely difficult. Good bet that a bird entered the engine over the end of the runway. On one of the eyewitness videos, a faint engine burst can be heard as the plane goes over the end of the runway, immediately before he grabs altitude for the potential attempted return.

Speculation on the cause is not encouraged, but their was initial speculation about a possible show manoeuvre, but that is highly unlikely, and mechanical emergency was more likely. The formal investigation will determine the actual cause.
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[Drip_Torch]

I can't imagine anyone would need to see another angle, however there is one quietly drifting around the internet. It is perhaps slightly better quality and a completely different angle.

https://www.facebook.com/ktrotman2/vide ... 009608245/

I had to think it over a bit before sharing it. In the end it did offer me a little more in terms of "sense making". I'm left with the impression he really did try to get it back over the airport, but in the end just ran out of time and air speed.

[Urban Cowboy]

That angle does seem to show that the parachutes didn't have time to open properly.

[Drip_Torch]

That's pretty much exactly the impression I'm left with. Capt. MacDougall had it levelled and right side up, but the system punched out the back seat and then the front seat. I can see Capt MacDougall's chute at least starting to open, before he goes out of sight, but by the time Capt. Casey was ejected the jet was already nose down.

Milliseconds made the difference. And of course, what isn't lost on me is the fact he tried so hard to get it back over the airport. Obviously, had they ejected at the apex of the climb, they would have had a much better chance, but it seems he really tried to avoid sending the jet into a populated neighborhood and hung on as long as he could.

[Sonny Taylor]

I've dabbled in aviation forums for perhaps 25 years. Almost always when a serious accident occurred and it's possible causes were deeply discussed, someone would surely chime in and admonish the forum members with something like this:

"People, people... Please STOP SPECULATING and wait for the accident report !!!"

So I'm a little surprised I haven't seen a post like that yet. Then again, this isn't an aviation forum.

I've always disagreed with that thought. Internet forums are for discussion, and if speculation is part of that then so be it. Plenty of speculation going on here, but I think that's a good thing; it's intellectually stimulating and helps put some thoughts into a new perspective.

But for sure, I await the official report resulting from the investigation.

[Urban Cowboy]

That's pretty much exactly the impression I'm left with. Capt. MacDougall had it levelled and right side up, but the system punched out the back seat and then the front seat. I can see Capt MacDougall's chute at least starting to open, before he goes out of sight, but by the time Capt. Casey was ejected the jet was already nose down.

Milliseconds made the difference. And of course, what isn't lost on me is the fact he tried so hard to get it back over the airport. Obviously, had they ejected at the apex of the climb, they would have had a much better chance, but it seems he really tried to avoid sending the jet into a populated neighborhood and hung on as long as he could.

There is no back seat just two front seats.

I agree had they ejected at the peak of the climb they'd likely have been fine, as parachute would have opened all the way.

As it was, not only were they low, but they ejected practically sideways, which would make more sense in regards to the person on the ground stating it looked like the victim hit a tree.

The pilot clearly put the safety of people on the ground ahead of his own.