GREAT FALLS, MONT. ? A Canadian Forces Snowbird 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.

Col. Richard Foster, commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, said McCaughey was a veteran pilot and part of a group of some of the finest pilots in the world.

“He was a very professional pilot,” Foster said at a news conference in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the squadron’s home base. “The team will take an operational pause to remember Shawn McCaughey like we need to, and then we will go back and do the rest of the show season.”

The plane broke from the formation and crashed during maneuvers above Malmstrom, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. No one ejected from the single-engine jet, he said.

Lt. Jeff Noel, a spokesman for 15 Wing Moose Jaw, said the Snowbird pilots participating in the practice run in Montana were veterans, though he couldn’t say exactly how many planes were in the air at the time.

The Snowbirds perform high-speed, low-altitude maneuvers in nine Canadair CT-114 Tutors and are part of the Canadian Air Force. Including Friday’s death, six Snowbird pilots have died in crashes since 1972.

The Malmstrom runway is closed, so the team took off and was to land at the Great Falls International Airport.

The team was to perform today and Sunday at Malmstrom’s open house. An event organizer said Malmstrom’s open house would continue, but was uncertain if the Snowbirds would perform.