What was meant to be a fun, family weekend turned tragic, when a crash at the Cold Lake Air Show left a civilian pilot dead.
Bruce Evans was piloting his T-28 Trojan during a performance on Sunday. At approximately 1:50 p.m., hundreds watched in horror as Evans' plane crashed into the ground.
“The silence in the crowd was incredible. Everybody was just shocked and just felt horrible, and was hoping the pilot had survived,” Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland recalled.
He added, “I saw the plane go by in the air. I turned to my right to the gentlemen I was talking to and then I heard a sudden boom. It wasn't that loud, but I looked up and I could see the smoke. It's a really tragic event.”
While the cause of the crash hasn't been released yet, witnesses say it looked as if Evans was coming out of a loop in his routine but ended up being too close to the ground.
Immediately following the crash, Copeland explained that the announcer directed people with children to take them over to the static display and keep their focus on something else.
Emergency services personnel from 4 Wing responded to the situation and, upon securing the scene, discovered Evans was already deceased.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident and are providing our full support to Mr. Evans' team here in Cold Lake,” said base Commander Col. Eric Kenny. “We express our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones of Mr. Evans.”
The remainder of the air show was cancelled, and visitors were directed off of the base grounds.
“It is with a heavy heart that I recognize the passing of Mr. Bruce Evans following a T-28 Trojan aircraft crash at the Cold Lake Air Show this week,” said Bonnyville - Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr. “Mr. Evans was an experienced pilot who was lost far too soon as a result of this accident.”
Residing in Calgary, throughout his career Evans has logged 4,100 hours of flight time. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence with Instrument Rate, a T-28 Endorsement, and a low level aerobatic clearance.
Growing up in an Air Force family, Evans' always had an interest in aviation. However, he decided to take his own path and attend Queen's University in Kingston, ON to become a geologist. His love of flight only grew when the family purchased a Cessna 172, which became his choice of travel between university and his home in North Bay, ON.
Evans has been involved in resource exploration throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. Through his career, aircrafts have been used extensively for not just transportation, but in the completion of geophysical surveys. From that, he launched his own airborne geophysical survey company – Firefly Airborne Surveys.
It wasn't until 2007 when Evans purchased his T-28B Trojan.
“The dedication and commitment of the pilots, both military and private, it's just amazing,” expressed Copeland. “Everybody has heavy hearts…But I'm sure Bruce would be telling everybody to keep on going and putting on the show.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) deployed a team of investigators to CFB Cold Lake shortly after the crash. They are currently gathering more information and assessing the incident.
