Rest in peace, airman.
Few things in Canada so consistently bring fountains of tears of pride to my eyes as seeing our Snowbirds perform meticulously—magically—at our Abbotsford Int’l Airshow in the summer.
The Snowbirds are a primary driving force to recruiting young pilots into Canada’s air defenses. This is a sad day for the family of Captain Selby and indeed for all of Canada, as Captain Selby—of my home town—was killed today in the line of duty.
An experienced pilot with the Snowbirds aerobatics team has died in a mid-air crash of two jets over Saskatchewan.
Capt. Miles Selby was killed Friday morning during a routine training mission. Another pilot, Capt. Chuck Mallett, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The pilots’ planes were flying at about 1,000 feet over Mossbank, Sask., which is about 65 kilometres south of Moose Jaw, the Snowbirds’ Saskatchewan home base.
For reasons still not clear, the two planes crashed in mid-air. Skies were reportedly clear at the time. Mallett was able to eject and parachute to safety.
“We’re not 100 per cent sure of exactly the detail of how the accident happened at this time,’’ 15 Wing Commander Col. Alain Boyer told a news conference.
“The team from Ottawa will arrive hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning, and we will be able to ascertain what happened in the next few days.’‘
All operations have been temporarily suspended while investigators try to determine what caused the crash.
Selby, who was 31, was a fighter pilot who had over 2,650 hours of military flying experience. He was from Delta, B. C. and was in his second year with the Snowbirds.
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