LONDON, ONT. -- On the cusp of the airport runway, Michael and Andrea Powers recall the brief moments their family had with the flight crews of the The Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds Demonstration Team, including the late Capt. Jennifer Casey.
Casey was killed in this weekend’s Snowbird tragedy in Kamloops, B.C.
It was Mother’s Day, May 10 and the Snowbirds were about to take off from London International Airport as part of the cross-country ‘Operation Inspiration’ effort.
As the Powers gathered along the fence line of the runway, Andrea says they all held Canadian flags.
“And we were really excited to see them fly, because who doesn’t stop to look at the sky when the Snowbirds go over.”
Moments later the flight crews walked by. The Powers' four-year-old son Chase can be seen ringing a cowbell to get their attention in a moment, captured in a family video.
In the end, he only gets a response from one, a wave, from the now lateCasey, as Michael tells CTV News.
“It just happened the captain, Jen, walked by, and [Chase] said, 'Thanks for fighting coronavirus.' And I laughed and chuckled at the time, in the moment, it’s the words of a four-year-old."
But Chase’s words were appropriate to the Snowbirds' mission, as they travelled the nation to boost our spirts amid COVID-19.
Andrea says hearing of Casey’s passing, in the midst of an effort to help us all, is heartbreaking.
“It hit me especially hard, when I heard she was the one who passed away from the accident.”
It’s also been especially hard news to take for Londoner Scott Simpson.
The broadcaster worked for several years with Casey at a Halifax radio station prior to her decision to join the military in 2014.
He also served as the MC of Casey’s wedding.
Jennifer Casey is seen in this undated photo taken while working in a radio newsroom in Halifax, N.S. (Source: Scott Simpson)
Simpson was working at a London radio station when he heard of the crash.
He was immediately worried for the crews.
However, he initially dismissed any notion that Casey, the Snowbirds' Public Affairs Officer, could have been killed or injured.
“I thought during a show, there’s no way she’d be in the plane. I thought she’d be on the ground helping reporters, taking shots, speaking to the public."
Simpson soon learned from mutual friends, Casey had died.
“I was just shocked [at the news]. My head went into tunnel vision.”
Simpson says Casey was a kind person with “genuine emotions,” that served her well in media and public relations careers.
He says her legacy will be her good-natured spirit and optimism.
“She was such a bright light, you could only imagine the thing she was going to do with her life in the future."
A future now taken away, as the nation mourns Casey’s loss.
For the Powers family a tribute video is way to say thanks to her, and the injured snowbird pilot Capt. Richard McDougall.
“Sometimes you’re thankful to be a part of something. I put that video together just to be supportive of them in this time,” Michael concludes.
