The Mayor of Kamloops says the city will make an announcement about a permanent memorial to former Snowbirds Public Affairs Officer, Captain Jenn Casey, in a couple of weeks.
“We are still actively working on that and we’ll have an announcement on or around the anniversary of the crash on May 17, so watch for more information on that,” Ken Christian said on NL Newsday.
Christian’s comments come almost a year to the day when he committed to a memorial for Capt. Jenn Casey and Snowbirds “when the time is right.”
“They’re cherished Canadian icons that have been with us for 50 years, and we will make an appropriate memorial to their service to this country,” Christian said during a ceremony organized by the Royal Canadian Legion at Kamloops Airport last May.
It’s not clear exactly what the memorial will look like, but Christian says the city knows where it will be.
“There is an opportunity with the new Observation Park that’s going to be created as part of the Tranquille Gateway project at the conclusion of the [Trans Mountain pipeline] crossing the Thompson River, at that location,” Christian said last June.
“That’s a site actually where people naturally congregate to observe take off and landings from Fulton Field. So we’d ask staff to explore that.”
Christian was asked about the emotional return the Snowbirds team made to Kamloops yesterday, en route to CFB Comox.
“Kudos to the team that they wanted to come back and pay their respects to the airport crew that worked so closely with them and the community of Brocklehurst that really came out to support everything that the Snowbirds stand for,” Christian added.
“The roar of the jet engines over Kamloops I think gave pause I think for everyone to kind of look up to the skies and remember May 17 of last year, a day that will live on in infamy in the city of Kamloops.”
Capt. Casey died tragically on May 17 of last year after her Snowbirds Tutor jet crashed into a Brock neighbourhood moments after takeoff. The pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall was injured.
An investigation later concluded that Snowbird 11 lost power after a small bird was sucked into the engine shortly after take-off from Kamloops Airport.
Snowbirds Public Affairs Officer, Capt. Gabriel Ferris says the legacy of Capt. Casey will be honoured by the Snowbirds during the 2021 airshow season.
“We’re happy to come back to Kamloops. It is hard, but we’re happy to come back and see the population,” he told NL News yesterday. “We know you want to show your love and we really appreciate that.”
