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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... le1181627/

Snowbirds grounded for ‘operational pause'
Problems with the jet's ejection seat system of the Canadian military aerobatic team's aging CT-114 Tutors prompted further investigation

KATHERINE O'NEILL

Globe and Mail Update, Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009 07:16PM EDT

The Snowbirds, Canada's iconic military aerobatic team, have had their wings temporarily clipped while investigators probe a technical problem with their aging fleet of 20 CT-114 Tutors.

The order, which the air force has called an “operational pause,” was made over the weekend, when a routine pre-flight inspection before a practice flight at an air show in Bagotville, Que., turned up problems with the jet's ejection seat system.

Sub-Lieutenant David Lavallee, an air force spokesman, said the military doesn't know how long the investigation will take or whether the Snowbirds will have to cancel any upcoming appearances, including their popular Canada Day fly past Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 1.

“It's a wait-and-see until investigators can figure out what happened and what went wrong,” he said Sunday. “It's unfortunate that things like these happen during the air show season but the top priority is always the safety of our people.”

The military's “operational pause” also affects five more of the air force's CT-114 Tutors, as well as the Hawk One F-86 Sabre and a CT-133 flown by the National Research Council.

A Department of National Defence news release said the current technical glitch is connected to a piece of equipment designed to come apart automatically during an ejection and is not related to problems previously experienced with the Tutor's lap belt.

In May 2007, Capt. Shawn McCaughey died after his seatbelt unbuckled when he was flying upside down during a rehearsal at an air show in Montana. He fell out of the seat, lost control of the plane and it crashed.

A new pilot-restraint system, already under development since the problem was first identified in 2002, was installed and the planes returned to the skies a month later.

The Snowbirds demonstration squadron, which was formed in 1971, has had seven fatal crashes, most of them in the past two decades. The most recent crash occurred in October during a routine operation near 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Sask., where the Snowbirds are based. Capt. Bryan Mitchell and Sgt. Charles Senecal, a military photographer, died after their jet crashed into a field.

The mounting deaths and concerns over the team's aging fleet – their aircrafts are more than 40 years old – have sparked a public debate about the future of the famed Snowbirds.

The Canadian military spends about $10-million a year staging dozens of the team's performances at air shows and events across the continent.

According to the St. Thomas Wings & Wheels website, the Snowbirds (and presumably Hawk One) are back in action!

So does that mean that all civilian aircraft with those seats are grounded?

As of the afternoon of the 17th, the Snowbirds and Hawk One are in doubt for the Wings and Wheels show according to the website. I hope it is resolved and glad I hadn't made plans to be up there.

I would like to see Hawk One in the air this year if possible, and if this issue is resolved, I may try to make the Windsor Show at the end of August.