A possible birdstrike is at the center of the investigation into the crash of a Royal Canadian Air Force's aerobatics squadron plane, the Canadian military investigator said in preliminary report on Monday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2020) A possible birdstrike is at the center of the investigation into the crash of a Royal Canadian Air Force's aerobatics squadron plane, the Canadian military investigator said in preliminary report on Monday.
"A detailed analysis of video footage recovered for the investigation revealed one bird in very close proximity to the aircraft right engine intake (see red circle in picture above) during the critical phase of take-off," the investigator said. "The investigation is focusing on environmental factors (birdstrike) as well as the performance of the escape system."
At the time of the crash, the military deployed the RCAF CT-114 Tutor aircraft for a cross-Canada air tour to lift spirts amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Capt. Jennifer Casey, the Snowbirds' Public Affairs Officer and pilot Capt. Richard MacDougall, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries after ejecting from the aircraft.
The jet went down in a residential neighborhood near Kamloops, British Columbia, on May 17.
The Snowbirds - officially the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron and based in CFB Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan - is a military air show squadron and is known as an important part in the Canadian Armed Forces' recruitment efforts.
The Snowbirds have been involved in a number of incidents since the squadron's first show in the 1970s with now nine fatalities.
The operational safety of the squadron has come into question in the past, with a Canadian Forces College report in 2017 expressing concern about the nearly 60-year-old aircraft.
