The RCAF Snowbirds have cancelled their last show of the season in Houston while they determine the cause of the loss of a CT-114 aircraft in Atlanta last weekend. Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier, the second line astern pilot in Snowbird 5, punched out of his Tutor just before the team was to perform at the Atlanta Air Show. He was uninjured and the aircraft came down in an unpopulated area. The circumstances that began the chain of events have not been publicly discussed but no other aircraft were involved and one briefly escorted Domon-Grenier before the decision was made to eject. That suggests a technical issue with the aircraft that made it unflyable.
The aircraft have been grounded pending the outcome of the investigation. “The decision is necessary to ensure the safety of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel who operate the aircraft and that of the general public,” the team said in a tweet. “The pause on the RCAF’s CT-114 fleet will be in place as long as needed to ensure the aircraft can be operated safely.”