View Full Version : snowbirds mid-air
circle kay
10th Dec 2004, 19:52
Not a good week for Military Aviation.
snowbirds mid-air (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/snowbirds_crash)
Sympathies to families and friends
C K
dopeonarope
10th Dec 2004, 20:41
Canadian news link
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1102698891332_98108091?hub=topstories
My condolences to the family and friends:sad: Rest in Peace
wg13_dummy
10th Dec 2004, 22:39
This is not good news. My sympathies go out to all concerned.
Why is this time of year always so bad when it comes to this kind of thing??
MarkD
11th Dec 2004, 04:22
CTV News are jumping on the fact that the Tutors are 60s vintage, touting Hawks as possible replacements.
At the same time, 39 (of 109) CF-18s are going to be scrapped because DND are scavenging them for parts. How about recommissioning some more of the 18s for a Blue Angels style team and giving the Tutors a well deserved retirement?
Respects to Capt. Selby and those who mourn him.
saudipc-9
14th Dec 2004, 02:05
Hornets are way too expensive for the CAF to be able to support and we don't need another F-18 team in North America. The Toot is still a good aircraft albeit old. However, it would be nice to be flying an aircraft which represents the present day capabilities of the CAF a bit more.
The Tutor does represent the present day capabilities of the CAF. Outdated.
PPRuNeUser0172
14th Dec 2004, 14:34
Shall we try and bear in mind why this thread was started and show a little respect rather than start winging about equipment.
RIP Capt Selby and deepest sympathy to your family and friends
DS
Well said Dirty
Not the time or place lgw . . .. . . . . .
Deepest sympathies to all involved. I spent some time around the Snowbirds and a nicer bunch of guys you couldn't meet.
My thoughts to all at MJ .. . . . . .
Smurfjet
4th Feb 2005, 02:29
Impressive account by the surviving pilot. Check the video links to the right.
CBC Report (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/02/03/snowbirds-report-pilot050203.html)
rotornut
4th Feb 2005, 10:10
Snowbird crash probe zeroes in on 'human factors'
Canadian Forces Captain Chuck Mallett discusses Thursday the Dec. 10 mid-air collision between two Snowbird jets.
Globe and Mail Update
POSTED AT 12:31 PM EST Thursday, Feb 3, 2005
Snowbird pilots who collided last December waited too long to take evasive action, according to military investigators who said that the probe will focus on the “human factors” that may have caused the deadly crash.
An interim accident report issued Thursday says that the pilots were aware of the danger of collision but waited until it was too late before one pilot tried to swerve out of the other's path.
The demonstration jets collided over southern Saskatchewan at about 700 kilometres an hour, igniting a fireball and destroying both planes.
The crash killed Capt. Miles Selby, a 31-year-old from Tsawwassen, B.C., who had flown missions over Kosovo and was in his second year with the aerial team.
The other pilot, Capt. Chuck Mallett, said Thursday that he had been lucky to survive the crash and parachute to safety without igniting the jet fuel his clothes were soaked in.
“Of course, it's bittersweet, because foremost in my mind was the fact that I had been in a collision and I did not know at the time what the status of my good friend and co-worker, Miles, was at the time,” the British Columbian told CBC Newsworld.
“In retrospect, thinking back to the good fortune that i had to survive through it, absolutely, there was a lot of things that happened. ... [But] it's pretty hard to focus on that with the tragic outcome of the accident being that I lost a very good friend.”
Military investigators found that both pilots stayed in their planes as they fought to the last moment to avoid each other.
“When it was evident that a collision was imminent, one pilot initiated an evasive manoeuvre to the inside of the loop, his briefed safe exit direction. Immediately following this decision, a collision occurred at the top of the loop at about 3,500 feet above ground level,” reads the interim report from the Directorate of Flight Safety, an arm of the Department of National Defence.
“The collision caused a fireball, which engulfed both aircraft. The pilot of No. 8 was killed instantly in the collision.”
Capt. Mallett, who was flying jet No. 9, did not eject but was thrown out of his plane.
“He realized he was outside of the aircraft and pulled the ‘D' ring on his parachute but then realized he was still in the seat,” the short report says.
“He manually released his lap belt and pulled the ‘D' ring again. Shortly thereafter, his parachute blossomed. About five seconds later, he landed on the ground having sustained minor injuries from travelling through the fireball.”
Capt. Mallett, who was treated for smoke inhalation and has already rejoined his squadron, said Thursday that he incident happened rapidly and left him disoriented.
“I was spinning very, very quickly end over end, and the horizons were going by very fast,” he said. “I had no idea how high I was or how much time I had.”
Capt. Mallett flew in the formation that appeared during the mid-December funeral of Capt. Selby.
The Snowbirds, part of 15 Wing based in Moose Jaw, was formed in 1971. The Department of National Defence spends about $10-million a year staging about 60 annual performances at air shows across North America.
The team has suffered five fatal crashes, most of them in the past 15 years.
oldfella
4th Feb 2005, 14:12
Not a good time in our profession with this loss coming so soon after the loss of the Herc.
Trained as an IP by a Snowbirds guy and very impressed by professional aviator.
No words can really help but my thoughts are with friends and family at this time.
Another of the good guys gone, wings forever folded.
Rest in Peace
crossbow
4th Feb 2005, 16:07
Oddfella - This accident happened 2 months ago.
For some reason the link forced me to use "Realplayer" but I stuck with it and god am I glad I did. What a truly amazing story. Any FJ guys who have wondered what it would be like MUST listen to that guys tale...absolutely amazing that he was fortunate to get away with that. One minute your in the aircraft and then next your not. Sad to hear that one of the guys didn't make it and like a previous comment I have also come across these guys on occasion and found them to not only be true Professionals but also great blokes.
RIP
India Four Two
9th Mar 2005, 05:02
CBC TV aired an excellent documentary on Miles Selby (the pilot who was killed in the December accident) on the evening news today (Tuesday March 8). It can be viewed by going to the CBC news website (http://www.cbc.ca/newscast.html) and clicking on The National (halfway down on the right). The documentary starts at 32:10 into the broadcast.
Since this is the daily national news, it will only be available until tomorrow's edition replaces it - I'm not sure what time that happens, but to be safe, try accessing the link before 1200Z on March 9.
I'll try to find out if this story will be archived.