CALGARY — Canada's fleet of CF-18 Hornet fighter jets will continue to fly, even as investigators try to figure out what caused one of the planes to crash Friday in Lethbridge during a practice run ahead of the Alberta International Air Show.
"This is an isolated incident with one aircraft," said Lt.-Col. Midas Vogan, commanding officer of the 419 Moose Squadron based in Cold Lake.
The jet crashed around noon while Capt. Brian Bews practised a stunt about 10 metres above the runway, according to some witnesses.
He was able to eject from the twin-engined aircraft and dodge a massive fireball.
He was taken to hospital with minor injuries and assessed by a military doctor from CFB Cold Lake.
As of Friday night, the 36-year-old Bews was "very lucid, and very clear and comfortable," Vogan said.
Bews is expected to be released from hospital "very shortly."
Bews, a Saskatchewan native, performs in the CF-18 at air shows across the country as part of a demonstration team.
Charred wreckage of the jet was still scattered on the airfield Friday night, including what appeared to be a large portion of its tail section.
Vogan refused to speculate on the cause of the crash and would not say why he does not believe similar potential for disaster exists on any of the other CF-18s in Canada's 80-plane fleet.
"There is no operational impact to our organization, whatsoever," Vogan said.
One other Hornet is at the air show, although Vogan was uncertain if it would fly today.
Zoran Jovanovic, who was watching the practice session with his family, said he saw Bews perform barrel rolls and at least one high-speed pass over the runway while upside down.
Then the plane began "tail walking" with its nose in the air as if it was about to land. He said just before the plane went out of control, it rolled right and nosedived.
"It almost sounded like the engines shut off -- but it could be me in shock," said Jovanovic.
Ryan Giffin, another witness, said he could tell the plane was in distress as he watched it from his office window near the airport.
"You could tell something was going wrong. It was going way too slow. There was a sputtering sound and two puffs of smoke from the engines."
Private pilot Nathaniel Lockheart, who was also nearby, said it looked like the plane lost power out of its right engine.
"Only one afterburner was on and it was burning red hot," Lockheart said. "He looked very close to stalling. I knew what was going to happen: he wasn't going to make it out of this one."
After Bews hit the ground, he was dragged by his parachute for about 100 metres, according to witness Darren Jansens, and it appeared "he was knocked unconscious because he was being dragged sideways across the runway like a rag doll."
Vogan said a military investigation team would begin inspecting the wreckage immediately, but could not say when it may find answers.
In the meantime, what's left of the plane will likely remain in place on the grass near a runway at Lethbridge County Airport during the two-day air show.
"The show should go on unimpeded, minus one F-18," said Vogan.
That particular plane, he added, was about 25 years old.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced this week a $9-billion plan to replace the aging fleet with new F-35s, but Vogan said that's not a reflection on the F-18s still in service.
"It is one of the most reliable airplanes you can buy," said Vogan. "Its safety record is second to none."
The jets are stationed at airbases on Canada's east and west coasts. None are currently on overseas missions, said Vogan, who could not recall a recent crash involving one of the planes.
The afternoon training session at the airport was cancelled Friday and the runways were shut down, affecting commercial flights and planes arriving for the air show, which kicks off today at 1 p.m.
Organizers hinted at the possibility of cancelling the show, but the military returned control of the airfield to the airport manager Friday evening. The runways were expected to reopen after being swept clean of debris.
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