Says Pilot Hadn't Received Adequate Training

A report released this week by the Canadian Air Force's Directorate of Flight Safety says the December 2004 mid-air collision of two members of the Snowbirds demonstration team was caused not by defects with their aging Tutor jets, but by inadequate training and experience.

The Canadian Press quotes the report as determining Captain Miles Selby did not have either the "training or experience" to conduct the co-loop maneuver, which led to the collision over Saskatchewan.

News reports state Selby had flown the maneuver less than 14 times in training, and had never hit the mark precisely. The Surrey Leader newspaper reports Selby missed the mark by about 200 feet.

Due to a personnel transfer during the spring and summer of '04, Selby never actually performed the maneuver with a training officer -- as the previous pilot wasn't available to ride along with him, and provide feedback.

The accident report refers to Selby, in his third year with the Snowbirds at the time of the accident, as a "gifted natural" who took to the team quickly -- and was ahead of the curve in flying the more challenging sequences of the team's performance routine.

As ANN reported, Selby was lost during a December 10, 2004 training exercise, in which his aircraft collided with a CT-114 Tutor flown by Captain Chuck Mallett at the top of the co-loop maneuver. Mallett was able to eject safely, suffering only minor injuries... but Selby went down with his plane.

The Flight Safety Investigation Report also recommends a number of initiatives to improve training.

FMI: www.snowbirds.dnd.ca, www.airforce.forces.gc.ca