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A dramatic search and rescue near Arviat, Nunavut on January 9, 2013 turned a rescuer into the rescued. Around 3:45 pm that day, a Custom Helicopters Bell 206 Jet Ranger (C-GGZS) that had been hired pick two hunters off of the sea ice broke through the ice on landing. The hunters who were to be rescued by the helicopter had to help the pilot from the machine as it slipped partially into the water and turned on its side.
The hunters were overdue from a seal hunting trip on the night of January 8th. They were on an ice pan that broke off from the land fast ice, preventing them from getting back to their snowmobiles and equipment. The Canadian Forces Search and Rescue were called in when the men didn't return to Arviat as planned. The Joint Rescue Control Centre dispatched a Hercules search aircraft, which located the men early on the morning of January 9th Attempts by local Arviat searchers to reach the men by boat failed due to the extreme cold. Temperatures at the time were below -30 degress celcius, with wind chills making it feel like about -50.
The Canadian Forces then called in the private helicopter which was based in Gillam, Manitoba. Hunter Joe Karetak picks up the story here.
The Custom Jet Ranger C-GGZS arrived on scene and attempted the rescue, with the Hercules circling above. When C-GGZS ran into trouble, Search and Rescue technicians parachuted down from the Herc to assist. All were picked up by a Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter which was enroute to the scene from CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. The Griffon arrived about 20 or 30 minutes after the mishap with the Custom Helicopters machine, according to a Canadian Forces spokesperson.
The two hunters and the Custom pilot flown to Arviat, Nunavut, where they were treated for hypothermia at the nursing station and released.
The Transportation Safety Board is interviewing everyone involved in the incident, but may not conduct a full investigation, according to CBC North News. Here's the Civil Aviation Daily Occurence Report on the incident
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Last Updated on Friday, 11 January 2013 00:32 |
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 A Perimeter Aviation Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III (C-GFWX) crashed at Sanikiluaq, Nunavut around 6:15pm Eastern Time on December 22, 2012. The plane was chartered by Keewatin Air, and was enroute to Sanikiluaq from Winnipeg, Manitoba. There were seven passengers and two crew aboard the flight. A six month old child was killed in the crash.
The plane was on a second landing attempt on Runway 27 at the time of the crash. The Transportation Safety Board says it landed hard, and then went down beyond the west end of the runway. There was blowing snow at the time. There was no post-crash fire, and most of passengers were able to get out of the plane on their own. People from the community drove to the crash site with snowmobiles and sleds to transport the injured to the local nursing station. Sanikiluaq is small Inuit community on the Belcher Islands, in the southeast corner of Hudson Bay. It has no doctor or hospital. The pilot and co-pilot were flown to Winnipeg for treatment, and later released.
The wreckage of the plane has been removed from the crash site, and stored in two sea-lift containers. It will be shipped south at the beginning of the summer shipping season.
The death of the infant is prompting some calls for the use child safety seats on commercial aircraft.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. An investigator was in Sanikiluaq on December 27, 2012. They'll be examining the flight data recorder, which has been recovered from the crash site. Information on the TSB investigation, including a Google map of the area, is available here |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 30 December 2012 11:41 |
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 NavCanada, the company the runs Canada's air navigation system, has recently made available electronic versions of the Canada Air Pilot (IFR approaches plates, etc), various VNC navigation charts and other publications. You'll find the order page here. There is a fee for online purchase of the publications. The files are downloadable PDFs, that allow you to print your required pages.
For Nunavut, you'll want E-CAP1 for IFR; the map at the left shows the VNC chart numbers; Hi and Lo level enroute charts are also available.
If printed at the correct resolution, the electronic versions are authorized for in-flight navigation. (Up to 4800 optimized dpi colour (up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi colour and 1200 Input dpi).
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Last Updated on Saturday, 22 December 2012 03:25 |
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 Seems like just about every network has an aviation-related program these days. And National Geographic TV Canada has added one to their mix of shows. Alaska Wing Men takes on a number of flights with pilots flying small, single engine aircraft in the challenging skies of Alaska. The show is features alot of flying, including some interesting glacier and rough terrain landings. Check it out here... they have shorter video segments from the show available for on line viewing.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 08 September 2012 00:26 |
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 The Air Line Pilots Association says creating GPS approaches for both ends of all northern airports would improve air safety in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Devin Lyall told CBC News the Association has identified 28 airports in Nunavut and the NWT that would benefit from the additional GPS approaches. He says airports would also benefit from lengthening and paving, though he acknowledges that comes at a high cost./ Lyall says the ALPA has formed a committee on Remote Operations, which includes pilots from First Air, Canadian North, Calm Air, and Air Alaska.
Photo at left shows Cessna 172 C-GOLJ turning final for 24T CYXP Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Click to enlarge. |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 21 July 2012 18:39 |
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 Transport Canada has introduced new regulations requiring "private turbine-powered and commercial airplanes with six or more passenger seats to be equipped with an alert system known as the “terrain awareness and warning system” (TAWS).
In a written statement on July 4, 2012, Transport Canada noted the following:
"The new regulations will replace the current regulatory requirement for a ground proximity warning system (GPWS) under section 605.37 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. In comparison to GPWS, TAWS gives the flight crew much earlier acoustic and visual warnings of a collision, and does so under conditions where GPWS cannot. "
"The regulatory amendments require TAWS to be installed with an enhanced altitude accuracy function. TAWS requires precise altitude information to work properly in all climates. Without the enhanced altitude accuracy function, TAWS may give altitude readings that are incorrect by up to 500 feet because of factors such as air pressure and frigid temperatures."
The Canadian Aviation Regulations are available on line. And here's the updated Advisory Circular 600-003 with more details on the requirements (Oct 2013)
If you're not familiar with TAWS, here's a quick look at the system by Universal Avionics. And here's a background paper from 2006 from the International Civil Aviation Organization discussing the value of TAWs based systems. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 18 October 2013 20:51 |
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 It seems aviation is coming popular in the reality of TV world. The Discovery Channel has recently introduceda new aviation based show. It is called "Dangerous Flights", and features some challenging ferry flights around the Atlantic and Pacific. One of the episodes features a flight through from Europe, through Greenland to Goose Bay, Labrador and on to the US. A range of single and small twin engine aircraft are featured, including Cessna 206, Cirrus SR22 , Beech Bonanza, Dornier 228, King Air C90B, Phenom 100, Piper Cheyenne, Piper Navaho.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 21:19 |
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 People across Nunavut were deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a Canadian Forces Search and Rescue Technician involved in a rescue effort near Igloolik, Nunavut on October 27, 2011. Sergeant Janik Gilbert was one of three SAR Techs who jumped into the icy waters of Hecla Strait in an effort to rescue two Igloolik hunters. He did not survive.
Gilbert was with the 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron based at the Canadian Force Base in Trenton, Ontario. This group is responsible for aerial search and rescue operations in a large part of arctic Canada. Having spent time in a Hercules as a volunteer spotter with the Iqaluit Civil Air Search and Rescue Assocation (CASARA) group over the years, we've had a chance to see first hand the amazing work done by Canadian Forces Search and Rescue crews. Anyone who travels in the north, by air, sea or land, knows the importance of their brave and selfless service.
CBC News has a story about the tragedy here, including links to earlier stories and the official statement from the Canadian Forces. The Royal Canadian Air Force website also has an article on the tragedy.
Funeral services were held November 5th at La Chapelle Ste-Jeanne D'Arc at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, Quebec. Here is an article about the funeral.
UPDATE December 21, 2011:
The Canadian Department of National Defence published the Aircraft Occurrence Summary outlining what happened on October 27, 2011. Read the report here. A final report is expected in October 2012. See the CBC News story here.
UPDATE June 16, 2012
Gilbert was posthumously awarded the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. CBC News has a story about the bravery award here.
UPDATE October 6, 2012
 The Search and Rescue crew that performed this mission were honoured with a national award for the complex and demanding rescue mission. See the story here.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 October 2012 18:26 |
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Flight Planning and Weather 
