Canadian 'Morale-boosting' flyover ends in death

A jet from the Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds aerobatics team crashed into a British Columbia neighborhood on Sunday during a flyover intended to boost morale during the coronavirus pandemic.

The crash killed one crew member, and seriously injured another and set a house on fire.

It left debris scattered across the neighborhood near the airport in the city of Kamloops, 418 kilometers northeast of Vancouver.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Captain Jennifer Casey, who served as a spokesperson for the team, and the injuring of Captain Richard MacDougall, one of the team’s coordinators and pilot of the aircraft who survived landing on the roof of a house.

“For the past two weeks, the Snowbirds have been flying across the country to lift up Canadians during these difficult times.” Trudeau said in a statement.

“Their flyovers across the country put a smile on the faces of Canadians everywhere and make us proud.”

The morale-boosting mission is now on indefinite hold and the Tutors have been grounded.

Video posted on Twitter appears to show two Snowbirds taking off. One climbed into the sky before rolling over and plunging to the ground.

It appears to show at least one person ejecting before the plane disappears behind a stand of trees and an explosion is heard.