Capt. Jennifer Casey

by **Trooper** Mon 18 May 2020, 7:03 am

Capt. Jennifer Casey, public affairs officer for the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, was killed in a crash on Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Kamloops, B.C. Courtesy: Royal Canadian Air Force

CF Snowbirds team member killed in crash remembered as ‘sunshine’: Alberta airshow producer

BY KAYLEN SMALL GLOBAL NEWS
Posted May 17, 2020 11:53 pm
Updated May 18, 2020 12:22 am

An Albertan airshow producer is remembering the woman killed after a plane with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds demonstration team crashed in Kamloops, B.C., on Sunday as a positive person with a passion for the industry.

The Royal Canadian Air Force confirmed that Capt. Jennifer Casey, the team’s public affairs officer from Halifax, N.S., was killed in the crash.

Sarah Van Gilst with Wings Over Springbank Airshow said she knew Casey for about three years, describing her as “sunshine” in an interview with Global News.

“She was a really joyful person to be around,” she said with her voice breaking.

“She was very efficient at her job and had a real passion for the industry. So she kind of got what we always call the air show bug,” Van Gilst said, noting that she expected to see Casey involved for many years to come.

“Once you get involved in this industry, it tends to grab hold of your heartstrings.”

Van Gilst, who has been in the airshow industry since 2008, explained that it is a small, tight-knit community.

“We tend to know each other for a lot of years. Colleagues become friends and friends become family, so it’s hitting us all very personally right now,” she said.

Casey joined the RCAF in 2014 and the Snowbirds in 2018. Before that, she worked as a radio reporter, producer and anchor, according to her biography.

The fatal crash is incredibly tragic and heartbreaking, Van Gilst said.

“Beyond just sort of the [Snowbirds] demonstration team being the teamwork that they are, safety is so important for them. So with something like this happening, it’s really shocking just to think that it could happen this way,” she said.
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds were on Operation Inspiration, a cross-country tour to “lift the spirits of Canadians and salute front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the Department of National Defence.

https://globalnews.ca/news/6955399/alberta-airshow-producer-remembers-snowbirds-fatal-crash-jennifer-casey/

by **Trooper** Sun 24 May 2020, 7:24 pm

Procession for Snowbirds crash victim makes its way through Halifax

Published Sunday, May 24, 2020

HALIFAX -- A procession honouring the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team member killed in a recent plane crash began under blue skies in Halifax Sunday evening, as the remains of the young officer remembered for her bright smile arrived in her hometown.

Close friends and family members wearing black and the official Snowbirds colours of red and white laid flowers on Capt. Jennifer Casey's casket during a homecoming ceremony on the tarmac near Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

The 35-year-old military public affairs officer and Halifax native died in the crash of a Snowbirds Tutor jet in a residential area of Kamloops, B.C., last Sunday.

The national aerobatics team was on a cross-country tour to boost residents' spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Governor General Julie Payette wore face masks as they stood at the airport ceremony along with dozens of military members.

Payette said the Snowbirds do a risky job and said she was proud to be in Halifax honouring Casey.

"The fact that this happened during Operation Inspiration, where they were going around cheering us Canadians, is even more tragic," Payette said after the ceremony.

A bagpiper played while military members carried Casey's casket from the CC-130J Hercules that had taken off from Abbotsford, B.C., Sunday morning after an earlier private ceremony with her Snowbirds teammates.

A police-escorted motorcade left the Halifax airport to transport Casey's remains through the city to Atlantic Funeral Home.

Spectators were encouraged to wear red and white, and to respect social distancing measures while observing the procession.

Early in the procession, footage showed supporters parked along Highway 102, many standing beside their vehicles holding Canada and Nova Scotia flags.

In the week since the crash, Casey's family said she possessed a beautiful smile and a "positively infectious personality" that made her the ideal person to carry out a mission aimed at stirring hope during a time of uncertainty.

Friends and former colleagues have remembered her as upbeat, professional and enthusiastic with lasting pride about her hometown.

Casey's "final journey home to Halifax" began Sunday morning, according to a tweet posted from the official Snowbirds account.

The Snowbirds thanked Canadians and singled out the residents of Kamloops and local First Nations for supporting Casey, the squadron and Capt. Richard MacDougall, who survived the crash with injuries the military has said are not life-threatening.

"Your love and support is very deeply appreciated, and will never be forgotten," the tweet read.

Casey earned bachelor's degrees in arts and journalism from Dalhousie University and the University of King's College in Halifax, as well a master's of interdisciplinary studies from Royal Roads University in Victoria.

Before joining the Armed Forces, Casey had a career as a radio reporter, anchor and producer in Halifax and Belleville, Ont.

She began her military career as a direct entry officer August 2014 and was assigned to the Snowbirds in 2018.

Operation Inspiration has been suspended while the team's jets are subject to an "operational pause," the team's commander said last week. Lt.-Col. Mike French said the events were the "absolute worst nightmare" for the Snowbirds.

It's the second time this month that Haligonians have held a motorcade for a military member who called the city home.

The remains of Sub.-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a Royal Canadian Navy sailor killed last month in a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece, were transported through the city by a police-escorted motorcade on May 11.

Thousands of people attended the motorcade for the 23-year-old Cowbrough, who was originally from Toronto but had lived in the Dartmouth area.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/procession-for-snowbirds-crash-victim-makes-its-way-through-halifax-1.4952199

Capt. Jennifer Casey

Capt. Jennifer Casey

Re: Capt. Jennifer Casey