By Scott Taylor
On Thursday 27 May, 431 Squadron of the RCAF held a Celebration of Life ceremony inside an aircraft hangar at CFB Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan. This sad tribute was to honour Captain Jennifer Casey who lost her life on 17 May in a Tutor aircraft crash outside Kamloops, B.C.
To meet the challenge of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony involved only a few well-spaced guests and speakers. To allow Casey’s family, friends and comrades to share the moment, 431 Squadron arranged to have the event live streamed on video.
This ceremony in Saskatchewan followed a homecoming funeral procession in Casey’s hometown Halifax the previous Sunday. The plane carrying her casket was met by Governor General Julie Payette and Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan. Hundreds of mourners turned out on the streets of Halifax to pay their final respects to Captain Casey.
On a personal note, it was only when the obituaries were published that I realized I had known her as ‘Jenn from the Rick Howe Show’, which she produced during her former career in journalism. She would call to book me as a guest on the show and I had met her on several occasions when I was in the 95.7 talk studios. Her death shocked and saddened Canadians from coast to coast.
To date there has been no exact cause given for the crash of the Snowbird Tutor which killed Casey and left pilot Captain Richard MacDougall injured.
There is abundant amateur video, which was broadcast by the media showing the Tutor aircraft make a sudden climb shortly after the take off. Both MacDougall and Casey ejected but the parachutes do not fully deploy.
I rest assured that the RCAF will conduct a full and thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. At the time of the crash the Snowbird Squadron was transiting from Kamloops, B.C to Vancouver Island to complete the final leg of a cross-country morale boosting tour to lift Canadians’ spirits during the COVID-19 lockdown.
This tragedy has given voice to aviation experts who point to the advanced age of the Tutor aircraft which first entered service with the RCAF in 1963. However, since the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron was first stood up in 1971, they have experienced a total of 24 accidents or mishaps, eight of which proved fatal resulting in a total of nine dead military personnel.
Of those incidents only eight were deemed mechanical failures and only two of those eight resulted in fatalities. The Snowbird Squadron prides itself on meticulous maintenance of their admittedly aging aircraft. The majority of the accidents have been the result of mid-air collisions, wing tip collisions or bird strikes.
For those who question why the RCAF would endanger its personnel by having them perform aerobatic formation flying, the fact is there is an inherent risk to such aerial demonstrations. That is what creates the ‘wow’ factor when the Snowbirds perform at air shows. People don’t pay to watch formula one cars drive around the track at the public speed limit.
As to the future of the RCAF maintaining the Snowbirds, the hard truth is that the Tutors will need to be replaced. The current timeline sees a possible procurement of new jets sometime between 2026 and 2035 with a budgeted cost of between $500 million and $1.5 billion.
With this most recent crash putting the Squadron back in the spotlight and depending on the full extent of the economic havoc to yet be caused by COVID-19 crisis, it may be difficult for the government to justify the expenditure of such sums of money to a fiscally struggling public.
It may require the RCAF to investigate avenues which would involve some form of corporate sponsorship to offload the costs. The Canadian Army has been very successful in relying upon corporate partners to stage their annual Army Run so it would not be unprecedented.
RIP Captain Jennifer Casey and I wish a full and speedy recover to Captain Richard MacDougall.
