Snowbirds public affairs officer Capt. Jenn Casey is pictured in this photo from Twitter. Capt. Casey died in the crash of a Tutor jet in Kamloops.
Image Credit: TWITTER / @CFSnowbirds
April 16, 2024 - 3:49 PM
An art installation in a park near the Kamloops airport will honour the memory of RCAF Capt. Jennifer Casey who died in the crash of a Snowbird jet in 2020.
On May 17, 2020, Capt. Casey died when her Snowbird jet crashed in Kamloops during Operation Inspiration, a mission created to salute essential workers during the pandemic. The art piece will be installed in her honour at Fulton Field Park by Kamloops airport, according to a City of Kamloops news release.
Capt. Casey's death deeply impacted the communities of Kamloops, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and neighbouring regions and Indigenous nations, the city said. Mementos, flowers and signs were placed along the fence of what would soon become Fulton Field Park to pay tribute to the fallen Captain, the Snowbirds Team and Capt. Richard MacDougall who was seriously injured in the crash.
READ MORE: Trauma from Snowbird crash remains for Kamloops neighbourhood long after debris cleared
An art piece to commemorate Captain Casey will be installed in Fulton Field Park.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/City of Kamloops
The construction of Fulton Field Park has long been planned to commemorate John Fulton, a decorated Second World War veteran who was killed in the line of duty in 1942. After the crash, park plans soon included memorializing Capt. Casey as well.
"We wanted her memorial to help carry on her encouraging mission," local artist and May She Soar monument creator, Sarah Holliday, said in the release.
"The maple leaves are meant to be a mosaic of our collective grief at the loss of Jennifer Casey, while the branches represent Canadians joining together to lift up the memory of a hero. The three supporting pillars are symbolic of the specific communities that rallied around this tragedy, namely the City of Kamloops (its citizens, officials, first responders, healthcare workers, and the Tk'emlups te Secwépemc community); Capt. Casey's hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia; and the Canadian Armed Force."
The art piece has been designed to fit with the rest of the designs for the park and is meant to take the form of a Snowbird jet.
"The installation features clean-cut lines, and a modern look, making it consistent with the formal lines of the future Fulton Park design," Holliday said.
"The shape and sideways lean of the plane resemble a Snowbird high in the sky performing aeronautical maneuvers, which is meant to celebrate the relationship and history between the Kamloops Airport and the Royal Canadian Air Force."
The park is currently under construction and will be completed later in the year. Once it is open to the public, residents will be invited to visit the park and its amenities: the memorial art piece, the multi-use pathways, the tree varieties, rocking Adirondack chairs and picnic tables. Until then, the park remains closed.
Find past stories on the Snowbirds crash here.
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