Photo courtesy CFJC Today

By Dave Barry/Chad Klassen CFJC Today

Snowbird crash

Investigation into Snowbird crash underway

May 18, 2020 | 3:24 PM

KAMLOOPS – An investigative team with the Royal Canadian Air Force will be in Kamloops Monday afternoon to try to determine what was behind Sunday’s deadly crash of a Snowbird jet.

The RCAF Directorate of Flight Safety will be arriving from Ottawa. More than a half dozen members are expected to visit the crash site immediately after arriving in Kamloops. In conjunction, the BC Coroners Office and RCMP are also conducting investigations.

RCAF spokesperson Lt. Alexandra Hejduk says the team will be on the ground as long as necessary. “We want to make sure that whatever happened, doesn’t happen again,” said Hejduk.

An Air Force CC-150 Polaris transport plane landed at the Kamloops airport Monday morning with equipment and supplies that will be required by the Directorate of Flight Safety to conduct its investigation.

Already military personnel from Comox to Ottawa are in Kamloops to support the Snowbirds team and the investigation effort. Members of the local regiment of the Rocky Mountain Rangers are also supporting the work into learning what led to the crash.

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Following what seemed to be a routine takeoff from the Kamloops airport late Sunday morning, the Snowbird CT-114 Tutor suddenly gained altitude before appearing to lose power. Both occupants of the jet ejected from the jet as it tumbled to the earth. Captain Jennifer Casey was killed while pilot Captain Richard MacDougall survived with serious injuries.

Hejduk says everyone involved with the Snowbirds team is appreciative of the cooperation shown by the City of Kamloops and its residents. “We are incredibly grateful for the community support.”