Thanks for posting this Richard. It is a sad day here in Canada. One of our beloved Snowbirds has been lost.
Both the DND and the RCAF have confirmed one crew member injured and one deceased. The pilot was Capt. Richard MacDougall, who thankfully has non-life threatening injuries. The deceased is Capt. Jennifer Casey, the squadron's public affairs officer, who is also a pilot. She is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, so another sad day for the residents of that province, who have already suffered so much tragedy recently.
From the available video, there was a problem with the aircraft almost immediately after takeoff. Both the crew had to execute a low-level ejection, which always has inherent dangers. As an air force brat, my prayers go out to the immediate families and also to all the members and families of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. They are a close, tightly knit community. It is a time of grief for all of them. They were amongst the best of the best.
I watched them fly over our house a week ago yesterday, both as they approached and left Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on two of the legs of this tour. It was joyful to be able to see them again. They were on a tour across Canada designed to help lift up the spirits of all Canadians, to honour all front-line health care workers and give us hope in the middle of the pandemic lockdown. They had almost completed their cross-country tour, with just the west coast of British Columbia remaining. Such a sad occurrence in the middle of such an inspiring endeavour.
The crash is a tragedy, but they were doing what they loved, so there is some solace in that. I was also very happy to learn that there appear to have been no fatalities on the ground at the crash scene. Sic Itur Ad Astra!