The Department of National Defence has released an initial report into the crash of a military training plane that says the student pilot and instructor had to eject after doing basic acrobatics.
The two RCAF officers survived the crash, which happened on Jan. 27, about 50 kilometres southwest of Moose Jaw, Sask., along Highway 363 on private property. The CT-156 Harvard II aircraft was destroyed.
READ MORE: Military plane crashes south of Moose Jaw, Sask.
According to the report, the student pilot was in the front seat and the instructor was in the rear seat when they were practicing manoeuvres.
During one of the aerobatic sequences, the student pilot reduced the thrust to idle. The instructor then took control of the plane and went to full power. However, the aircraft’s speed had dropped. The instructor could not get the plane to operate normally again, despite using a military checklist for aircraft problems.
The report said the plane was flying low when a low oil pressure light came on and the engine began to lose power.
The instructor was not able to gain altitude and it was determined the plane was too low to glide safely back to 15 Wing Moose Jaw. The crew ejected and one of the pilots had minor injuries after the crash.
A similar incident happened in January 2014, when a CT-156 Harvard II aircraft crashed about 16 kilometres south of the 15 Wing air force base during a routine mission. The student pilot and instructor had to eject.
READ MORE: Military plane crashes south of 15 Wing Moose Jaw
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