The Snowbirds flew over Regina on May 14, 2020, as part of Operation Inspiration. (Anne Brigham/Submitted)

By CJME News

Snowbirds cleared to resume flying operations

Aug 24, 2020 | 5:40 PM

The Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds have been given the all-clear to resume flying operations, but they won’t be doing any more shows in 2020.

A statement on the team’s website Monday said the commander of 2 Canadian Air Division, Brig.-Gen. Denis O’Reilly, had lifted the operational pause on the Tutor jets flown by the air demonstration squadron.

The pause was put into effect following a crash May 17 in Kamloops, B.C. Capt. Jennifer Casey, the Snowbirds’ public affairs officer, was killed in the crash.

“The risk analysis for the CT-114 Tutor fleet undertaken by the airworthiness authorities and their teams of experts was detailed and thorough,” O’Reilly said in the statement. “I have the utmost confidence in their work, and the mitigation measures developed. These measures will enable the fleet to return to flying operations.”

Even though the pause is over, the Snowbirds will not be performing again in 2020. The team’s planes, which were grounded following the crash, are expected to return from Kamloops to the squadron’s home base at 15 Wing Moose Jaw over the next two weeks.

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“The Snowbirds continue to mourn the loss of Captain Jennifer Casey,” Lt.-Col. Denis Bandet, the squadron’s commanding officer, said in the statement. “The best way we can honour her is to get back into operations in a safe and deliberate manner.

“While we are saddened that the 2020 air demonstration season is officially cancelled, and that we will not be completing Operation Inspiration, the team is looking forward to getting back in the air and starting to train for next year’s season.”

Operation Inspiration was to be a nationwide series of flyovers designed to boost Canadians’ spirits during COVID-19. The tour had reached Kamloops on the day of the crash.

That accident was the second involving a Tutor in eight months. The first happened prior to a Snowbirds performance at an air show in Georgia in October.

The team’s jets underwent what the statement called “a thorough technical and operational risk analysis” that recommended risk mitigation measures.

Those involve some restrictions on flying operations and a focus on increased maintenance requirements.

A Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS) investigation is continuing into the Kamloops accident, which may have been caused by a birdstrike. The performance of the jet’s ejection system also is being investigated.