Pilot dies in Snowbirds crash
By OLIVER MOORE
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A 31-year-old Snowbirds pilot died after his jet collided with a teammate's plane during training Friday in southern Saskatchewan.
Captain Miles Selby, a native of Tsawwassen, B.C., was a two-year veteran of the Snowbirds and had a background flying CF-18 fighter jets, said Colonel Alain Boyer.
"We will regroup and spend some time thinking about our loss," Col. Boyer told a news conference. "That's our focus right now."
Injured in the collision was Captain Chuck Mallett, 35, of Edmonton.
The two men were the sole occupants of the pair of two-seater planes that went down on a routine training mission in good weather conditions, said Captain Jay Walker, an officer with 15 Wing in Moose Jaw.
"It's a perfect day for flying," he told globeandmail.com in a telephone interview from Alberta. "We will not fly unless it's safe to do so."
Bill Graham, the Minister of National Defence issued a statement on Friday.
"On behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I would like to express heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Captain Miles Selby, the Canadian Forces Snowbird pilot who lost his life today in a tragic training accident that also injured Capt Chuck Mallett. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. We wish Capt Mallett a speedy recovery. I was deeply saddened to learn of this horrible loss which is not only a loss to the Snowbird community, the Air Force, and the Canadian Forces, but also to all Canadians who know and love the Snowbirds, a true source of Canadian pride. The Snowbirds act as Canadian ambassadors in demonstrating to the public the skill, professionalism and teamwork of the men and women of the Canadian Forces. Capt Selby exemplified these qualities and will be sadly missed."
The Snowbirds are a demonstration team of pilots that appears regularly at air shows, flying their distinctive red-and-white jets through a series of risky manoeuvres. The planes, a former trainer known officially as the CT-114 Tutor, are four decades old, but fatal accidents are rare.
The previous Snowbird fatality was six years ago today, when Captain Michael Captain Michael VandenBos, 29, was killed. He ejected after his plane touched wingtips with another plane, but his parachute did not open. Two of the jets collided over Lake Erie in the summer of 2001, leaving one person injured.
Emergency beacons in both planes alerted the air force Friday to problems on the mission. These beacons can be triggered by a crash or by a pilot's ejecting, Capt. Walker said, and help lead rescue crews to the scene.
A pair of planes took to the skies over the training area, an abandoned airfield called Mossbank about 50 kilometres south of Moose Jaw, and co-ordinated the search with crews on the ground.
The Snowbirds marked their 35th anniversary this year. They have performed in front of more than 116 million spectators across North America.
Officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the Snowbirds team includes 80 people, two dozen of whom fly the planes.
With a report from Canadian Press
