If you missed the CF-18 Demonstration team flyovers Sunday, you now have a chance to see the Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly over Vancouver Island today.
There are two parts to Monday’s flyover, each lasting about an hour.
The first part will see the team leave Vancouver International Airport at about 10 a.m. and go to Nanaimo, where they will pass over Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Qualicum Beach, Port Alberni (West Coast General Hospital) and Tofino (Tofino General Hospital) before landing in Comox.
At 1 p.m., the team will take off from Comox and head to Sooke and Greater Victoria, where they will pass over the following locations before returning to Vancouver:
• Victoria General Hospital
• CFB Esquimalt
• Downtown core
• Gorge Road Hospital
• Glengarry Hospital
• Royal Jubilee Hospital
• Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health
• Saanich Peninsula Hospital
• Sidney
Keep in mind, times may change based on the weather.
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds first returned to the island in May to conduct their spring training in the Comox Valley.
It marked their first return to the island after a tragic incident last year.
On May 17th 2020, in the midst of their cross-country tour aimed at boosting morale during the COVID-19 pandemic, tragedy struck when an engine failure caused by a bird strike killed one person and seriously injured another during their tour in Kamloops.
The plane was bound for Comox from Kamloops, however, the tour was cancelled while investigators determined the remaining planes were safe to fly.
Canadian Armed Forces member, Capt. Jennifer Casey, a public affairs officer from Halifax, was killed while another, Capt. Richard MacDougall, who was piloting the aircraft, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The Snowbirds returned to air three months after the crash.
