A Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet crashed, killing the pilot, during rehearsal for weekend performances at a U.S. Air Force base in Montana, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane, one of five practicing maneuvers over Malmstrom Air Force Base, broke from formation and plummeted Friday afternoon. «It just smacked into the ground, and there was a big ball of flames,» said Gillian Scarber, who had been watching the rehearsal, according to the Great Falls Tribune. Smoke drifted across the highway as emergency crews raced to the scene, she said. The cause of the crash was under investigation. The Canadian military identified the pilot as Capt. Shawn McCaughey, 31, of Candiac, Quebec. He had been with the Snowbirds for two years, and was the sixth Snowbirds pilot killed in a crash since 1972.
