A member of the Snowbirds is dead and another has sustained critical injuries after a jet crashed shortly after takeoff into a neighbourhood in Kamloops, B.C. earlier Sunday.
The Royal Canadian Air Force confirmed the fatality in a tweet at 5:25 p.m. on Sunday. The surviving member of the crash suffered serious injuries, but are not considered life-threatening.
The Snowbirds had been on a tour of Canada called ‘Operation Inspiration’ due to not being able to fly due to COVID-19 bans on public gatherings. They’d flown through Eastern Canada, arriving in Moose Jaw earlier last week, and then headed to Saskatoon and eventually westward.
A cross-Canada tour is nothing new for the CF Snowbirds, but this trip was specifically aimed at thanking all the frontline workers facing the challenges of COVID-19.
According to their Twitter feed, they were headed to Comox, B.C.
OKANAGAN: We know some areas are starting to clear up, however transit through some of the mountain passes have very low cloud cover which is unsafe for flying 9 jets. We are going to preposition to Comox to start working our way west.
— CF Snowbirds (@CFSnowbirds) May 17, 2020
The Transportation Safety Board has offered its assistance to the Snowbirds in the investigation of the crash after the aircraft fell into a residential area near Kamloops.
After hours with no new information, a nation eagerly awaited for updates regarding those inside the aircraft, British Columbia Health Minister, Adrian Dix initially confirmed that one was injured.
Late this morning @BC_EHS received multiple calls about a plane crash near the Kamloops airport. Paramedics and air ambulances were dispatched and one individual was transported to hospital. Our thoughts are with all affected during this difficult time.
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) May 17, 2020
Following a flood of eye-witness videos and pictures all over social media, The Royal Canadian Airforce officially issued a statement Sunday evening providing the update.
Video courtesy of Jason Kyle Arnold/Facebook