The Canadian Press - Castanet Media
The lone fatality in Sunday morning's tragic Snowbirds plane crash was Cpt. Jennifer Casey, the Snowbirds' public affairs officer, while Cpt. Richard MacDougall suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Casey joined the Canadian Forces in 2014 and was based out of Trenton, Ont., after working in radio as a reporter, anchor and producer in her hometown of Halifax and Belleville, Ont., according to her Royal Canadian Air Force bio.
Casey spent most of 2018 with the CF-18 Demo Team, travelling around North America and the United Kingdom with the NORAD 60 jet. She joined the Snowbirds in November 2018.
Tim Durkin, who worked with Casey at Quinte Broadcasting in Belleville, said they became fast friends when she joined the station in 2013.
"She just jumped right into the community and was involved with it," he said. "Just somebody that when she walked into a room, she just made you smile. She was a great person and a great friend as well."
Durkin said she loved hockey — particularly the Montreal Canadiens — and they attended the world junior hockey championship together three years ago in Montreal.
Casey's roots were in Nova Scotia — a province that's been ravaged by tragedy in the past month.
Under the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic, a gunman killed 22 people in rural parts of the province, and a military helicopter from the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton went down over the Mediterranean Sea, killing six people — three of whom were from Nova Scotia.
"Now they lose one of their own daughters," Durkin said. "It's something that the whole country reels with, but Nova Scotia in particular is going to be hit hard now."
In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with the families of Captain Casey and Captain MacDougall, as well as the entire Canadian Forces Snowbirds team, as they grieve this terrible loss. I would also like to thank the emergency personnel in Kamloops who responded so quickly to this tragic incident," he said.
“For the past two weeks, the Snowbirds have been flying across the country to lift up Canadians during these difficult times. Every day, they represent the very best of Canada and demonstrate excellence through incredible skill and dedication. Their flyovers across the country put a smile on the faces of Canadians everywhere and make us proud."
