Tragic death of Canadian Snowbird air team

Old Ironmaker

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https://twitter.com/supermario_47/status/1262101139966750720

The air acrobatic Canadian Airforce Snowbird team lost a member during a fly by in western Canada on the weekend. They are our version of the US Blue Angels. They were on a country wide tour doing flybys in support of 1st responders across the country. Capt. Jenifer Casey ejected but did not survive, the pilot did survive the crash when he landed on the roof of a residential home. No report of anyone injured in the residential neighbourhood where the crash occurred. Capt. Casey was not a pilot she was in Public Relations for the Canadian Airforce. They were there to boost moral for the front line workers and tragedy struck. Sad day.
 

southkogs

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I'm very sorry to hear of it. I've enjoyed watching them fly when they've been here in the States. We lost a member of the Blues here in the Nashville area a few years ago ... very hard on the team and the community.
 

gm280

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I did see the news video this morning about this. She was part of the Snowbirds and somehow lost control of the jet and I watched it twist over and down as she ejected out. I guess the injuries from ejecting were more then some mere bruises. I liked seeing the Snowbird perform and am sorry to hear this RIP!
 

82rude

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She was in the techs seat which is on the left of the pilot.The angle they ejected almost guaranteed a fatality in that plane as it has an older ejection system vs the new system.
 

racerone

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I read that possibly they had engine issues.-----Pilot tried to get as much altitude as possible ( sacrificing air speed ) to eject safely.-----It just did not happen.------Just spit second to make these decisions.
 

Old Ironmaker

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The jet seemed to be in a uncontrolled dive straight down and they were very late ejecting.
 

hemi rt

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She was in the techs seat which is on the left of the pilot.The angle they ejected almost guaranteed a fatality in that plane as it has an older ejection system vs the new system.

The ejection seats are rocket powered in that aircraft, I was one of the techs that did the conversion. The rocket seat allows for even ground ejection with enough height for the chute to open and bring the pilot to the ground. If she ejected at too steep of a bank there is a possibility that her chute would not depolye enough to get her on the ground safely.
 

BWR1953

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The jet seemed to be in a uncontrolled dive straight down and they were very late ejecting.

Looks like power was lost and the pilot tried to climb and turn back. In the process, airspeed was lost and the wing stalled, causing the nose to drop and the aircraft to roll. Not enough time to recover from the stall, so they ejected.

Very sad.
 

jimmbo

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At the Height and Angle at which the Ejection took place, I was surprised there was only one Fatality.
 
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