Technical problems that could jeopardize the safety of an emergency eviction have forced a Snowbirds performance in the Moncton area to be canceled.
The Canadian Air Force acrobatic team was scheduled to perform on the city this coming Wednesday.
But a technical problem with a tool that sets the time of the parachute during the expulsion has caused the planes to remain on the ground.
“We are fully confident that this issue will be resolved in a safe manner, working with an external aviation contractor and our own technical and maintenance experts,” the general said. Eric Kenny, commander of the 1st Canadian Air Division.
The Snowbirds were scheduled to fly over the Moncton area on June 29, but technical difficulties have canceled those plans. (Guy Leblanc / CBC / Radio-Canada)
Once the problem is resolved, the parachutes of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft will have to be retested and packaged, according to a press release.
The cancellation comes two years after a Snowbirds plane crashed in Kamloops, BC, killing one of the two crew on board.
The two crew members had been expelled, but there were problems with the expulsion of the crew member who died, and these have not been fully explained.
The Department of National Defense said there is no link between the current problems and the 2020 crash.
The Moncton show would have been especially significant, as the pilot who survived the 2020 crash, Captain Rich MacDougall, is originally from Dieppe and was scheduled to fly to the event.
The Snowbirds say they are working hard to fix the problem in time for Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa.