2 killed in Sask. military plane crash
Regina Leader-Post and Global News
Published: Thursday, October 09, 2008
MOOSE JAW, Sask. - The pilot and passenger aboard a Snowbird died Thursday after the military aerobatics jet crashed near a Saskatchewan air force base.
Col. Paul Keddy, commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, confirmed the deaths of the two, both Canadian Forces personnel, at a news conference. He did not release their names because their families are still being contacted.
"It is with deep sadness that I announce to you that we have lost two great Canadians here at 15 Wing Moose Jaw - outstanding members of the Canadian Forces due to a tragic accident," he said.
A CT-114 Tutor aircraft - like the Snowbird jet shown here - crashed Thursday near 15 Wing Moose Jaw while involved in a 'training mission,' the Air Force said in a statement. The pilot and a passenger were killed.
Master Cpl. Robert Bottrill/Canadian Forces
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Font:****"I'm extremely proud of the men and women of 15 Wing at this time. We've had a tragic afternoon."
Capt. Genevieve Mitchell, the base's public relations officer, said a CT-114 Tutor jet crashed about two kilometres northwest of the Wing perimeter at around 12:30 p.m.
Mitchell said the Tutor was on a training mission at the time of the crash. It was photographing three other aircraft flying in formation, and had been airborne for between 45 minutes and an hour when it crashed.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, campaigning in Winnipeg, extended his sympathies to the grieving families.
"I learned not too long ago the death of two Snowbird pilots in a training accident, I gather. I've met most of the members of the Snowbird team, so this is quite upsetting for all of us," he said.
"I just want to convey my sincere condolences to their colleagues and their family, and this should remind us all of the great dangers our men and women in uniform do accept."
New Democrat leader Jack Layton also expressed condolences from the campaign trail.
"The people of Saskatchewan are proud of the air force at 15 Wing," Layton said in a media release. "On behalf of New Democrats across Canada, I extend my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the men lost today. I know the air force family at CFB Moose Jaw and all across Canada will feel this loss with acute pain."
15 Wing is home to the Snowbirds, Canada's national air demonstration team, who are currently performing in San Francisco. The team, due back at 15 Wing in a few days, will not be recalled to Canada early.
The downed craft was not currently in active service with the team.
Military spokespeople would not say whether the jet was showing signs of distress or trailing smoke before the crash.
A flight safety team from Ottawa will fly into the base Friday afternoon. Among other things, they'll be examining the inflight recorder for clues to the crash.
Area resident Doug Johnson was driving north in the area when he saw the jet dive into the ground.
"There were three (planes) together and two off to the side," he told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. Johnson said he noticed smoke coming from behind one of the planes and originally thought it was the smoke that often trails after planes during a performance. But then he thought the colour was odd.
"When I turned to look back again, I saw one of the planes beeline into the ground."
The deaths come just over a year after another deadly Snowbird crash.
On May 18, 2007, a Tutor jet, also based at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, crashed while flying in formation with three other aircraft during a practice at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont.
The pilot, Capt. Shawn McCaughey, was killed when his seatbelt came unbuckled during an airborne roll, causing him to fall out of his seat and lose control of his aircraft.
The CT-114 Tutor has been in service in Canada since 1962, when they were purchased by the military as pilot trainers. They were adopted by the Snowbirds in 1971. They are also used in aircraft testing at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alta.
There have been several other plane crashes involving planes from CFB Moose Jaw in the past.
Last April, an instructor and student pilot were ejected from an aircraft at 15 Wing 1 1/2 seconds before it crashed into the end of the runway. Investigators believe the crash may have been caused by a broken turbine blade.
Also, in 1954, a Trans-Canada flight collided with a two-seater, single-engine military plane just south of the airbase.
Acting pilot officer Thomas Andrew Thorrat's climbing Harvard Mark II hit the tail end of the Northstar plane at 6,000 feet, sending it in a rapid descent into the city of Moose Jaw.
The plane descended towards the direction of the city's largest elementary school and skimmed the school's roof before crashing into a house.
All the passengers aboard the commercial flight, along with the military plane's pilot, and a housekeeper at the residence were killed, bringing the death toll to 37.
Moose Jaw is 70 kilometres west of Regina.
Moose Jaw Mayor Dale McBain also extended condolences to the families of the two dead.
"And to all of the folks out at 15 Wing - our deepest sympathy," McBain said. "We do have a close relationship with those people and we certainly extend our sympathies to all of them there."
With files from the Moose Jaw Times-Herald
© Regina Leader-Post and Global News 2008