Snowbirds crash, 2 killed

One Canadian Elite Pilot Killed, One Hurt in Crash

56 minutes ago

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – An elite pilot was killed and another injured on Friday when two jets of Canada’s famed Snowbirds precision flying team crashed during a training flight in southern Saskatchewan, an air force spokesman said.

Capt. Miles Selby, 31, was killed when his CT-114 Tutor jet crashed near the small town of Mossbank, where the 11-member team practices its high-speed formation maneuvers.

Spokesman Capt. Jay Walker of the air force’s 15 Wing, based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, said the other aircraft’s pilot, Capt. Chuck Mallett, 35, ejected and suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the collision — the Snowbirds’ sixth fatal crash since the precision team was formed in the early 1970s — has yet to be determined. It was a bright, sunny morning, so weather was not a factor, he said.

“We have a flight safety investigation coming in from Ottawa over the weekend here and they’re going to find out exactly what caused this,” Walker said.

“Right now the Snowbirds are together as a group and consoling each other. It’s a very deep loss that we’re feeling here at the base.”

The Moose Jaw air base is about 50 km (30 miles) north of the crash site.

Members of the Snowbirds, which are known for trick flying at major public events, are chosen from among Canada’s top fighter pilots and stay for three-year stints.

Selby, a native of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, was in his second year with the Snowbirds. He had been a CF-18 fighter pilot who flew several missions in the Kosovo conflict and returned to the Balkans for peacekeeping duties afterward.

Mallett, of Edmonton, Alberta, is in his third year with the team.

The Snowbirds’ last crash occurred in 2001, when one of the red and white aircraft plunged into Lake Erie before an air show.

The last fatality was 1998 when one jet crashed in the same area as Friday’s accident

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041210/wl_canada_nm/canada_crash_snowbirds_col_2

and:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/snowbirds/

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/12/10/snowbird-crash041210.html