Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Airshow accident in Moose Jaw

My family and I attended the Saskatchewan Air Show in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on Sunday. We were treated to some spectacular aerobatic maneuvers. A couple of American F15s opened the show and then the SkyHawks, a Canadian Forces parachute team, took over with some great demonstrations. We were then treated to the Canadian CF-18 and the American A-10. Then there was a civilian act known as the "Masters of Disaster". The group consisted of three bi-planes (one jet assisted) and a jet powered truck. They each performed individually and were very impressive. Then in a finale all three planes got together for a mock dog fight.

But unfortunately on this day something went terribly wrong when two of the planes collided in mid air. Both pilots died. The entire crowd of 10-20,000 people were shocked. There was some initial confusion about what actually happened. Many thought the explosions were part of the show.

My wife and I discussed the incident with our kids who may be a bit too young to understand what they witnessed. We made sure that they understood the difference between the explosion they saw and the kinds of things they may see in a movie and that families lost fathers and brothers that day. Those men were experts in their business and knew the risks they were taking. I only wish that it would have ended like all the shows they had performed in the past...

No comments: