Return of the Snowbirds
(Republished from the 18 October 1989 issue of The Voxair)
OTTAWA — The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Bill McKnight, announced that the Canadian Forces’ 431 (Air Demonstration) Squadron — the Snowbirds — will resume air display performances on Thursday, September 28th, at St. Catharines, Ontario. His decision was based on the recommendation of the Chief of the Defence Staff.
“The show complies with the most stringent safety regulations for air shows in the world,” said Lt.-Gen. Fred R. Sutherland, Commander of Air Command, following his review of a practiceperformance by the Snowbirds yesterday afternoon in Portage la Prairie, Man. “The team boasts the most highly trained and well-practiced pilots in the Canadian Forces. I have recommended to the Chief of the Defence Staff that the show be allowed to continue.”
A Board of Inquiry, convened immediately after the September 3rd accident which claimed the life of Capt. Shane Antaya, has listed the cause of the crash as “undetermined”. No mechanical faults were found with either the pieces of the aircraft recovered from Lake Ontario, or with theother aircraft taking part in the show. Toxicology tests conducted on team leader Maj. Dempsey and Capt. Antaya were negative. Possible causes will continue to be investigated by the Board, through analysis of recovered aircraft parts, and techniques such as photo enhancement.
Flight safety remains the paramount concern during the team’s performances. The Snowbirds fly parallel to, and at a minimum distance of 1500 feet from spectators, as well as flying no lower than 300 feet above the ground at all times during their show. These limits were not adjusted as a result of the Board’s findings, In October 1988, the Fédération Internationale des Spectacles Aériens, an international body which monitors air shows, awarded the Snowbirds the distinction of being the safest air demonstration team in the world.
There are five shows left in this year’s schedule, including performances in St. Catharines, Sarnia, Ont., Bagotville, Qué., Tennessee, and the season finale at the home of the Snowbirds in Moose Jaw, Sask., on October 14. The team will perform with eight aircraft instead of the usual nine.
The upward-downward bombburst manoeuvre has been removed from the program pending a determination of the cause of the accident.
“After the tragic death of Captain Antaya, I am confident that the Snowbirds will rebound from their loss and continue to impress audiences from around the world with their professional abilities”, said Mr. McKnight.
Since the inception of the team in 1971, the Snowbirds have flown in approximately 980 shows, to the delight of over 60 million spectators.