Injured Snowbirds pilot, Captain Richard MacDougall has left Kamloops and returned home to recover from injuries sustained ten days ago in a plane crash shortly after take-off from Kamloops Airport.

That is according to Canadian Armed Forces spokesperson, Capt. Camille MacKenzie Dolphin, who says his exact location will not be released for privacy reasons.

A native of Dieppe, New Brunswick, MacDougall made a brief appearance outside Royal Inland Hospital last Thursday. He was released from RIH on Monday, May 25, and is expected to make a full recovery, but MacKenzie Dolphin says any update to his injuries cannot be disclosed under the Privacy Act.

MacDougall was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries following the crash that killed Halifax native, Capt. Jenn Casey, the Snowbirds public affairs officer.

While the Snowbirds planes remain grounded in Kamloops for now, the last few members of the team returned back to Moose Jaw on Monday, following the abrupt interruption of Operation Inspiration.

Meanwhile, the memorial to Capt. Jenn Casey at Kamloops Airport will be taken down this Friday and preserved. Some of the items at the memorial will be sent to 15 Wing Moose Jaw – the home base of the Snowbirds – and to the Casey family.

Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian has also committed to building a permanent memorial to Capt. Casey at a time that is appropriate. He is also encouraging Kamloopsians to go and see the memorial one last time before it is taken down.