Published: 5/19/07, 1:25 AM EDT
By MATT GOURAS
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - A Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet crashed Friday afternoon during rehearsal for weekend performances at Malmstrom Air Force Base, killing the pilot, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Canadian military identified the pilot as Capt. Shawn McCaughey, 31, of Candiac, Quebec.
The crash occurred at 3:45 p.m., when a group of five planes was practicing maneuvers above the base.
The plane broke from the formation and "for some reason shortly thereafter pitched down and crashed," FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. McCaughey was the only person in the single-engine jet, and he did not eject.
Major Robert Mitchell, the Snowbirds' commanding officer, said the plane was flying upside down about 300 feet off the ground in a "routine maneuver" when it went down.
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