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Captain Jenn Casey
On Could 17, Captain Jenn Casey died after she ejected from the Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The incident occurred as two Snowbirds had been taking off from the airport in Kamloops, a metropolis round 200 miles northeast of Vancouver. A video of the incident reveals that shortly after takeoff, one of many jets appeared to veer off and rise steeply earlier than turning right into a roll and beginning a nosedive towards the bottom. At that time, two individuals had been seen ejecting from the jet earlier than it crashed right into a home.
The Canadian Forces (CF) Snowbirds have been on a cross-Canada tour to “salute Canadians doing their half to combat the unfold of COVID-19,” as part of Operation Inspiration. The group flies in a nine-jet formation, and Casey was in one of many plane, piloted by Captain Richard MacDougall.
The Royal Canadian Air Power (RCAF) tweeted shortly after the incident, confirming that one of many CF Snowbirds members had died and the opposite sustained critical, however not life-threatening accidents. It then confirmed the id of the deceased member as Captain Jenn Casey:
The RCAF has suffered one other tragic lack of a devoted member of the RCAF group. We’re deeply saddened and grieve alongside Jenn’s household and pals. Our ideas are additionally with the family members of Captain MacDougall. We hope for a swift restoration from his accidents. – Comd RCAF pic.twitter.com/8U41bdVqcU
— Royal Canadian Air Power (@RCAF_ARC) Could 18, 2020
The put up reads: “The RCAF has suffered one other tragic lack of a devoted member of the RCAF group. We’re deeply saddened and grieve alongside Jenn’s household and pals. Our ideas are additionally with the family members of Captain MacDougall. We hope for a swift restoration from his accidents. – Comd RCAF.”
Tributes to Casey Have Been Pouring in For the reason that RCAF Launched Her Title
Many have been posting tributes to Casey because the RCAF revealed the id of the deceased Snowbirds member. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted:
Tonight, I be a part of all Canadians in mourning the lack of a member of the @CFSnowbirds #OpInspiration group, Captain Jennifer Casey. I’m sending my deepest condolences to her family members, and wishing Captain Richard MacDougall a full restoration.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) Could 18, 2020
He wrote: “Tonight, I be a part of all Canadians in mourning the lack of a member of the CF Snowbirds Operation Inspiration group, Captain Jennifer Casey. I’m sending my deepest condolences to her family members, and wishing Captain Richard MacDougall a full restoration.”
The Canadian Forces within the U.S. Twitter account posted a shifting tribute:
A Nova Scotian storyteller, she was a journalist earlier than becoming a member of as a Public Affairs Officer.
Throughout Canada and the USA, she introduced tales and smiles.
She was one in every of us, our sister.Captain Jenn Casey died in the present day.
Please say her title.
Bear in mind Jenn.-30- pic.twitter.com/irCwKc5ThY
— Canadian Forces in
(@CAFinUS) Could 18, 2020
Their put up reads: “A Nova Scotian storyteller, she was a journalist earlier than becoming a member of as a Public Affairs Officer. Throughout Canada and the USA, she introduced tales and smiles. She was one in every of us, our sister. Captain Jenn Casey died in the present day. Please say her title. Bear in mind Jenn. -30-”
Aviation photographer and journalist Tom Podolec posted in regards to the Snowbirds group’s go to to Toronto throughout Operation Inspiration:
RIP Captain Jennifer Casey
The group was so blissful once they visited Toronto Pearson Airport final weekend. They introduced pleasure, smiles, hope and inspiration to many Canadians throughout Canada throughout this very tough time.
Blue skies Jenn. https://t.co/TSTQrFrov1 pic.twitter.com/undLpyMQnp— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) Could 18, 2020
He wrote: “RIP Captain Jennifer Casey. The group was so blissful once they visited Toronto Pearson Airport final weekend. They introduced pleasure, smiles, hope and inspiration to many Canadians throughout Canada throughout this very tough time. Blue skies Jenn.”
Olympic Gold Medalist Heather Moyse posted:
Virtually 2 years in the past, I met Capt Jenn Casey once I had the privilege of flying in one of many @CFSnowbirds. She was a lightweight & a optimistic ball of vitality, & I’m so heart-broken to know that extra individuals is not going to be as fortunate as I used to be to have met her.
— Heather Moyse (@HeatherMoyse) Could 18, 2020
She wrote: “Virtually 2 years in the past, I met Capt Jenn Casey once I had the privilege of flying in one of many CF Snowbirds. She was a lightweight & a optimistic ball of vitality, & I’m so heart-broken to know that extra individuals is not going to be as fortunate as I used to be to have met her. #Snowbirds #OpInspiration #RIP.”
The fence across the Kamloops airport the place the incident occurred is now serving as a memorial to Casey, as this video reveals:
The fence surrounding the @KamloopsAirport is changing into a memorial tonight after Capt. Jenn Casey, a public affairs officer with the Canadian Forces, was killed in in the present day’s #Snowbirds crash in #Kamloops.@CityNewsVAN @NEWS1130 @BT_Vancouver pic.twitter.com/6QwUglp87e
— David Zura (@DavidZuraCityTV) Could 18, 2020
Casey Was a Native of Halifax, Nova Scotia & Labored as a Reporter Earlier than Becoming a member of the Armed Forces as a Public Affairs Officer
Casey was from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada, and labored for a few years as a reporter, producer and anchor in Halifax and Belleville, Ontario. She obtained a bachelor of arts from Dalhousie College in Nova Scotia, a bachelor of journalism from the College of King’s School in Nova Scotia and a grasp’s diploma of interdisciplinary research from Royal Roads College in British Columbia.
She joined the CF in August 2014 and her first project was as a public affairs officer in Trenton, Ontario, with the Royal Canadian Air Power. In response to her biography, she spent the 2018 season with a CF demo group touring with a NORAD jet throughout North America and the U.Ok. She joined the Snowbirds in November 2018.
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