Snowbirds Collide!

[kushal_22]

Two of our Canadian snowbirds had a midair today. One Pilot Killed :(
The other pilot was able to Eject safely. Jets Crash landed in farmland no one Injured on the ground.

Mal

[ajcoholic]

Yes, I heard that today on the news at work (on the radio). Very sad...

AJC

[Alfredo Rubio]

sadly news!!!! they visited Mexico many years ago, I did not saw the demo because I was sick in bed:( but I have a video, and this team is one of my favorites, accidents are a risk in the close formation flights in aerobatic teams, I hope the team cure the hurt soon.

Alfredo Rubio

[kushal_22]

Yes so do i. But sadly the rumor is that this accident may be the 'End" of the Snowbirds.

Lets HOPE NOT!

Mal

[Alfredo Rubio]

I hope not!!!!! some teams had crashes or accident, but still in the air.

When accidents happened, some times the teams change the planes, the Snow Birds had many years with the Tutor, I remember in 1985 after the Blue Angels 6 and 7 collition with the A-4, the team changed to the F-18, and when the thuds changed from the T-38 to F-16, but the Frecce Tricolori still with the same plane... and we can see the safety carrer in the team, I hope the Canadian RCAF do not take this option...

Alfredo Rubio

[Starguard]

Both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels have had more than their share of accidents and they're still around. I'm sure the Snowbirds are no different, and are strong enough to survive this and move on

[kushal_22]

The Tutor is over 4 decads old. The last rumore was that they were going to replace these with a PROP Driven Plane. But that was axed as it was going to cost too much.
If that does not tell you what the future is for this team then nothing will. They are on some very thin ice. Which is very sad VERY sad indeed.

Mal

[Neil Walker]

I think it would be a great shame if they wee to be axed. Typical politics *** - the accident happens and the leader of the opposition jumps on it in parliament as a cheap and dirty way to attack the current government. So typical - they don't really give a hoot, it's just convenient ammunition to slam their enemies with, and the Snowbird program ends up being caught in the crossfire. Grrrrrr....

Last time I saw them was awesome - it was a freebie performance. They were practising for a show in the U.S. and decided to put on a little performance for the people of Victoria, B.C. Right on a big stretch of waterfront overlooking the straight from Vancouver Island to Washington state.. what a backdrop, just before sunset when the light is "golden", with the Olympic mountains and Mt. Baker behind the show. Best manouever was the whole group of them coming straight down from directly overhead, with smoke on, then fanning out to all points of the compass. Dunno what it's called but it was amazing.. kinda like dropping a big net of smoke on top of the crowd.

I truly hope they can survive the political backlash, the politicians find some other scandal to beat each other up over and they can move on. It would almost be an insult to the man who died to scrap the program he loved because of it...