A Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet crashed and burst into flames in the front yard of a house in Kamloops, B.C., on Sunday.
The crash happened shortly after the jet took off from the Kamloops Airport. Witnesses say it was following another jet when it appeared to veer upward and circle the tarmac before going into a nosedive.
Video shows two puffs of black smoke coming from the plane and appears to show at least one person ejecting from the jet shortly before it hit the ground in a residential area near Glenview Avenue and Schreiner Street.
“This is a developing situation,” the Department of National Defence said in a statement.
“Our number one priority at this time is determining the status of our personnel, the community and supporting emergency personnel.”
Emergency crews from the Kamloops Airport are responding to the incident, the department said.
No other information was provided.
In a tweet Sunday afternoon, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said one person was taken to hospital after the crash.
Late this morning <a href=”https://twitter.com/BC_EHS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BC_EHS</a> received multiple calls about a plane crash near the Kamloops airport. Paramedics and air ambulances were dispatched and one individual was transported to hospital. Our thoughts are with all affected during this difficult time.
—@adriandix
This is the second crash involving the military’s famed aerobatic team in less than a year.
Witness saw parachute land on house
Witness Annette Schonewille said she saw the jet fall from the sky.
Schonewille was parked with friends having coffee at McArthur Island Park in Kamloops.
She said she watched one Snowbirds plane fly up and when the second one went after it, it appeared to catch on fire.
“The one plane continued and the other one … was a ball of fire,” she said.
“No noise, it was strange, and then the plane just did a cartwheel and fell right out of the sky. Just boom, straight down, and then a burst of black, black smoke.”
WATCH | Witness describes crash of Snowbirds jet:
Joe Leroux said he was at his uncle’s house in Kamloops when he heard “weird” noises coming from the sky.
He said he saw fire coming from the jet and it appeared the pilot was trying to gain control.
“As I watched longer I saw more smoke and then all of a sudden a chute came out of the plane, and almost immediately as the chute came out of the plane, the plane had exploded,” Leroux said.
“This all happened really quick.”
Emergency crews including Kamloops Airport’s aircraft rescue fleet are responding to an aircraft crash off airport involving a Canadian Snowbirds jet. More information to follow.
—@KamloopsAirport
Elwood Delaney said he watched two jets take off from the airport near his house.
“The other one didn’t quite bank up high enough and it kind of got it behind the trees and [I] saw a parachute come out of it and then smoke there,” he said.
“I saw one parachuter who landed on a house close by.”
Photos provided to CBC News by Delaney show the remains of a jet in the front yard of a house and what appears to be a parachute on the roof.
Neighbours and passerby crowded around the front yard behind police tape.
Marni Capostinsky said she lives across the street from the crash site and was out on the deck when she heard the plane getting closer.
“We ran out under the cover to look and saw something black coming towards us, everyone hit the deck it was so loud,” she said.
Capostinsky said there were large flames flaring on and off and a strong toxic smell filled the air.
She said her son immediately ran out with a hose and neighbours tried to help before first responders arrived.
“It was really scary but good to see everyone trying to come together,” Capostinsky said.
Snowbird jet crashed in U.S. last October
The jets had arrived in Kamloops on Saturday after flyovers in Alberta.
The Snowbirds aerobatics team was scheduled to do a flyover of the Okanagan area Sunday as part of Operation Inspiration, a salute to Canadians and front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic that started earlier this month in Nova Scotia.
On Sunday morning the Snowbirds tweeted some mountain passes had low cloud cover, which would be unsafe to fly through.
In an Instagram story post on Saturday, a Snowbirds pilot said the team was in Kamloops and was dealing with some “electrical malfunctions.”
Video of two Snowbirds taking off on Sunday shows one jet veering into the sky before plummeting down shortly after takeoff.
OKANAGAN: We know some areas are starting to clear up, however transit through some of the mountain passes have very low cloud cover which is unsafe for flying 9 jets. We are going to preposition to Comox to start working our way west.
—@CFSnowbirds
This is the latest incident involving the military’s air acrobatic team.
Another Snowbird went down in the U.S. state of Georgia last October, where the team was scheduled to perform an air show.
Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier sustained minor injuries when he ejected from the plane, which crashed into a farmer’s field. No one else was hurt.
The Snowbirds have performed at air shows across Canada and the U.S. for decades and are considered a key tool for raising awareness recruiting for the air force. Eleven aircraft are used during shows, with nine flying and two kept as spares.
The air force obtained its Tutor jets in 1963 and has used them in air demonstrations since 1971. Prior to Sunday’s crash, seven pilots and one passenger had been killed and several aircraft had been lost over the course of the Snowbirds’ history.
