Although our aerobatic performances were accident free, on September 13th Syd Burrows had a sever mid-air with a large bird while flying a Sabre 5. He was returning low-level to 4 Wing following a four-plane attack on Zweibrucken when the bird crashed through his canopy. It struck him in his left eye, from which he eventually lost his vision. Even with splintered canopy, blood and guts, and severe pain, Syd managed to bring his aircraft safely in. After many repairs, Syd was back on duty but without his aircrew category. Through his determination and help from several people, the brass were eventually persuaded to let this one-eyes pilot back at the controls. He was also written up for and received the Air Force Cross for his efforts. Fortunately, we were able to use our spare pilot, F/P Bill Grip, to finish off ourseason. He performed admirably as our right winger in place of Syd.
Reprinted from "A Tradition of Excellence - Canada's Airshow Team Heritage" courtesy Dan Dempsey. - Web Site -
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Updated: April 20, 2003