Atlanta, GA (WGCL)—One pilot ejected from a Canadian Snowbird plane that later crashed at the Atlanta Air Show on the afternoon of Oct. 13.
The pilot, Kevin Domon-Grenier, was safe after the ejection and crash. Officials said the airplane, a CT-144 Tutor, went down in an unpopulated area. The FAA said the crash happened around 1:30 p.m.
CBS46 spoke with a man who lives near the crash site. Mark Baldwin said he was at home when he heard a jet flying.
“I heard the jet engine just abruptly shut off and seconds later there was a loud explosion impact,” he said.
The team is deeply relieved to learn that Snowbird 5, Capt Kevin Domon-Grenier, is safe and that no one was injured following today’s incident at the Atlanta Air Show. Our thoughts are with the Snowbird team as they expertly handle this mishap. Today’s performance is cancelled.
— Thunderbirds (@AFThunderbirds) October 13, 2019
Baldwin said he saw the smoke and drove over to the nearby field, where he met the pilot.
“He was standing there as calm as can be,” Baldwin said. “I asked if he needed medical attention and he said he ejected low and his chute didn’t fully deploy and he hit pretty hard.”
The Atlanta Air Show issued the following statement: “Snowbird 5, Capt Kevin Domon-Grenier was forced to eject from his aircraft shortly before our performance in Atlanta this afternoon. Capt Domon-Grenier made it safely to the ground and is okay. The aircraft fell in an unpopulated area and no one was injured. It is too early to speculate on the cause of the incident. We are thankful Kevin and the public are unhurt.”
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
