Snowbirds Pause After Takeoff Accident

The Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds have canceled at least two shows after a takeoff mishap involving one of their CT-114 Tutor jets at an airport in northern British Columbia. The aircraft had a hard landing at Fort St. John Airport and was damaged. The pilot and lone person on board was not injured. Circumstances surrounding the incident have not been made public. An investigation has been launched and the team has canceled shows in Penticton, B.C., on Wednesday and Abbotsford, B.C., on the coming weekend until the aircraft have been cleared for flight.

The full team of show pilots and aircraft had already made the trip to Penticton when the incident occurred. It’s not clear why this aircraft was still in Fort St. John. The grounding is a normal result of a mishap like this as Air Force officials determine if the problem that caused it could occur to the other aircraft. The team was grounded for months two years ago after a fatal accident in Kamloops, B.C. Capt. Jen Casey, a public affairs officer for the team, died when her parachute failed to fully deploy after she and a pilot ejected following a bird strike in May of 2020.