Memorial design unveiled in Kamloops, B.C., for fallen Snowbird Capt. Jennifer Casey
The design for a new memorial in Kamloops, B.C., has been released, nearly four years after a deadly Canadian Forces Snowbird plane crash.
The public art installation will be next to Kamloops Airport at Fulton Field Park, the Interior city announced this week. The sculpture will be the same size as the Royal Canadian Air Force Tutor aircraft that Capt. Jennifer Casey was riding in when it crashed on May 17, 2020.
An investigation into the crash revealed a small bird flew into the engine of the aircraft shortly after takeoff. The pilot gave the order to eject, but the plane was at too low of an altitude for Casey to safely deploy her parachute.
Casey died and the pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall, was seriously injured. The pair had been part of a tour called Operation Inspiration, which aimed to raise spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We wanted her memorial to help carry on her encouraging mission," said local artist and May She Soar monument creator, Sarah Holliday, in a statement.
"The maple leaves are meant to be a mosaic of our collective grief at the loss of Jennifer Casey, while the branches represent Canadians joining together to lift up the memory of a hero."
Holliday explained the three support pillars of the monument symbolize the communities that rallied together during the tragedy: Kamloops, Casey's hometown of Halifax and the Canadian Armed Forces.
"The installation features clean-cut lines, angles, and a modern look, making it consistent with the formal lines of the future Fulton Park design," Holliday said in the statement. "The shape and sideways lean of the plane resemble a Snowbird high in the sky performing aeronautical maneuvers, which is meant to celebrate the relationship and history between the Kamloops Airport and the Royal Canadian Air Force."
Fulton Park is under construction and is expected to be completed later this year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.