Borek Twin Otter missing in Antarctica
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Borek Twin Otter missing in Antarctica
This can't be good, but prayers and hopes for the best:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...ne-search.html
(Edit: posted this before I saw the thread in the Rumors and News section)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...ne-search.html
(Edit: posted this before I saw the thread in the Rumors and News section)
Last edited by 340drvr; 24th Jan 2013 at 17:38.
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Three Canadians missing on flight over Antarctica - thestar.com
not much recent news- here's hoping for the best
not much recent news- here's hoping for the best
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Bob Heath
It's now over 20 years since I flew with Bob Heath, a former Class One
Flight Instructor from Moncton NB.
With Bob, we had a load of fun flying in all sorts of conditions
from -40 to + 30.
Bob was a mentor, an instructor who loved to impart knowledge and
was a true ideal check and training captain.
The Bob Heath you see on YouTube and articles looks very much
the same as he did 20 years ago, and has does not appear to have aged
and still retained a unique sense of humor.
The accident site is at around 13,000 ft and hopefully we will have some news
in the next few hours.
I spoke to Bob's wife Lucy today, and hand passed on my thoughts for her and Bob at this difficult time.
Bob has trained hundreds off pilots, a legacy and tradition that
will last a long time into the future generations of pilots.
Ramjet
Flight Instructor from Moncton NB.
With Bob, we had a load of fun flying in all sorts of conditions
from -40 to + 30.
Bob was a mentor, an instructor who loved to impart knowledge and
was a true ideal check and training captain.
The Bob Heath you see on YouTube and articles looks very much
the same as he did 20 years ago, and has does not appear to have aged
and still retained a unique sense of humor.
The accident site is at around 13,000 ft and hopefully we will have some news
in the next few hours.
I spoke to Bob's wife Lucy today, and hand passed on my thoughts for her and Bob at this difficult time.
Bob has trained hundreds off pilots, a legacy and tradition that
will last a long time into the future generations of pilots.
Ramjet
Last edited by Ramjet555; 25th Jan 2013 at 03:29.
Check here for the latest updates.
Maritime New Zealand's latest and past media releases - Maritime New Zealand
Maritime New Zealand's latest and past media releases - Maritime New Zealand
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Rescue mission in Antarctic: no luck spotting missing aircraft
Rescue mission in Antarctic: no luck spotting missing aircraft
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 7:59AM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:21PM EST
A break in the weather has allowed a Twin Otter rescue aircraft to land about 50 kilometres from where a plane carrying three Canadian crew members is believed to have gone down in the Antarctic.
The search plane touched down at Beardmore Glacier on Saturday (local time) but the crew reported that because of low cloud cover, they did not spot the missing aircraft owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air. The plane disappeared Wednesday on a flight over the Queen Alexandra mountain range, said New Zealand's Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
The rescuers are setting up a base camp to use as a launch pad to get into the area of the missing men's last known position. Two helicopters are en route to the base camp along with a DC-3 plane carrying supplies. A C-130 Hercules aircraft was circling the site where the missing plane's beacon activated hoping to spot the plane or the men. It was to land later with its supplies at Beardmore Glacier.
The missing Twin Otter's emergency locator transmitter was activated around 10 p.m. local time Wednesday as the plane travelled from a U.S. research station at the South Pole to an Italian research base in Terra Nova Bay.
The signal came from the north end of Antarctica's Queen Alexandra range -- about halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station. While searchers have flown over the area since the plane vanished, their hunt has been hampered by heavy cloud cover and at time hurricane-force winds, said officials.
The beacon stopped transmitting likely because the battery -- good for approximately 24 hours-- died and there has been no contact with the crew. But their plane was equipped with survival suits, cold-weather tents and food and water to last up to five days.
Experienced pilot missing
Friends have identified the pilot as Bob Heath from the Northwest Territories, an experienced pilot in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Heath has more than 20 years’ experience flying in extreme conditions.
His wife, Lucy Heath, told the Calgary Sun newspaper that she'd been called by airline officials and told "Bob's plane was down, and they were trying to reach it."
She said she was just waiting for more news: "I'm so worried."
Heath, who lives in Inuvik, N.W.T., has logged thousands of hours teaching young flyers in regions from the Maritimes to northern Ontario and administers tests to other pilots, said Roger Townsend, who was a co-pilot with Heath out of Red Lake, Ont. Flying with Heath was always a learning experience, Townsend said.
"He used it as an opportunity to impart knowledge. He's a true instructor with an extraordinary passion for teaching and training."
On the online networking site LinkedIn, Heath writes that he typically spends this time of year coaching and mentoring other pilots to upgrade their skills in polar regions.
Media reports have identified the copilot as 25-year-old Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek Air website. The third crew member has not yet been identified.
Officials from the Canadian High Commission in Wellington are working closely with local authorities organizing the search from New Zealand.
"Consular officials stand ready to provide consular services as required," said spokesperson Barbara Harvey.
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 7:59AM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:21PM EST
A break in the weather has allowed a Twin Otter rescue aircraft to land about 50 kilometres from where a plane carrying three Canadian crew members is believed to have gone down in the Antarctic.
The search plane touched down at Beardmore Glacier on Saturday (local time) but the crew reported that because of low cloud cover, they did not spot the missing aircraft owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air. The plane disappeared Wednesday on a flight over the Queen Alexandra mountain range, said New Zealand's Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
The rescuers are setting up a base camp to use as a launch pad to get into the area of the missing men's last known position. Two helicopters are en route to the base camp along with a DC-3 plane carrying supplies. A C-130 Hercules aircraft was circling the site where the missing plane's beacon activated hoping to spot the plane or the men. It was to land later with its supplies at Beardmore Glacier.
The missing Twin Otter's emergency locator transmitter was activated around 10 p.m. local time Wednesday as the plane travelled from a U.S. research station at the South Pole to an Italian research base in Terra Nova Bay.
The signal came from the north end of Antarctica's Queen Alexandra range -- about halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station. While searchers have flown over the area since the plane vanished, their hunt has been hampered by heavy cloud cover and at time hurricane-force winds, said officials.
The beacon stopped transmitting likely because the battery -- good for approximately 24 hours-- died and there has been no contact with the crew. But their plane was equipped with survival suits, cold-weather tents and food and water to last up to five days.
Experienced pilot missing
Friends have identified the pilot as Bob Heath from the Northwest Territories, an experienced pilot in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Heath has more than 20 years’ experience flying in extreme conditions.
His wife, Lucy Heath, told the Calgary Sun newspaper that she'd been called by airline officials and told "Bob's plane was down, and they were trying to reach it."
She said she was just waiting for more news: "I'm so worried."
Heath, who lives in Inuvik, N.W.T., has logged thousands of hours teaching young flyers in regions from the Maritimes to northern Ontario and administers tests to other pilots, said Roger Townsend, who was a co-pilot with Heath out of Red Lake, Ont. Flying with Heath was always a learning experience, Townsend said.
"He used it as an opportunity to impart knowledge. He's a true instructor with an extraordinary passion for teaching and training."
On the online networking site LinkedIn, Heath writes that he typically spends this time of year coaching and mentoring other pilots to upgrade their skills in polar regions.
Media reports have identified the copilot as 25-year-old Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek Air website. The third crew member has not yet been identified.
Officials from the Canadian High Commission in Wellington are working closely with local authorities organizing the search from New Zealand.
"Consular officials stand ready to provide consular services as required," said spokesperson Barbara Harvey.
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Crew believed to be dead as plane lost in Antarctic spotted on side of mountain
Crew believed to be dead as plane lost in Antarctic spotted on side of mountain
The wreckage of a Twin Otter aircraft missing for several days in Antarctica was found late Friday night and the three-member Canadian crew is believed to be dead.
Two helicopters dispatched by the Rescue Coordination Centre in New Zealand — it was early Saturday evening local time — confirmed earlier sightings of the wreckage of the craft operated by Kenn Borek Air of Calgary on a steep slope near the summit of Mount Elizabeth.
Officials with the centre said the impact appears to have been direct and would not have been survivable.
The next of kin of the three men have been informed.
The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik while media reports have identified a second crew member as Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek website.
The third crew member had not yet been identified.
Rescue mission coordinator Tracy Brickles said it was very sad end to the operation.
“It has been difficult operation in challenging conditions but we remained hopeful of a positive result,” she said. “Our thoughts are now with the families of the crewmen.”
The plane took off last Wednesday from the South Pole, headed to an Italian base in Antarctica’s Terra Nova Bay, but it never arrived.
An emergency locator beacon was detected coming from the north end of Antarctica’s Queen Alexandra range — about halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station, a U.S. research centre.
New Zealand search and rescue teams were hampered by bad weather over the next couple of days — snow, bitter cold, high winds and low cloud cover made it impossible for planes passing over the site to see anything.
Then, the locator signal stopped. Officials said that wasn’t unusual, as the battery life of the device is not long, but the information they had gleaned allowed them to pinpoint the plane’s coordinates.
Related
On Friday, a break in the weather allowed rescuers to set up a forward base at
Beardmore Glacier, about 50 kilometres from the crash site, where there is a landing strip and a fuel depot.
Working in their favour was the fact that at this time of year, nearly 24-hour daylight allowed for longer search hours.
Helicopters and other planes were called in to bring supplies and aid in the search.
A statement on the Kenn Borek Air website said visual contact with the wreckage was first made by a C-130 Hercules aircraft of the New York Air National Guard, and the sighting was later confirmed by another Twin Otter deployed by the airline.
“Every rescue mission, you hope for the best,” said Pania Shingleton, a spokeswoman for the rescue centre.
“Even yesterday we were hopeful because they were pretty well equipped and they knew what to do in a tough environment.”
Indeed, those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien
Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Heath had logged thousands of hours teaching young flyers in regions from the Maritimes to northern Ontario, said Roger Townsend, who was a co-pilot with Heath out of Red Lake, Ont.
His Twin Otter was well-equipped with survival equipment, including mountain tents and supplies which could have lasted five days.
What will happen next was not immediately clear.
According to the Kenn Borek statement, if weather conditions are favourable, helicopter crews and mountain rescue personnel will attempt to access the crash site on Saturday morning.
Shingleton said no decisions had yet been made on any recovery mission.
“There are obviously things that still need to be decided. We’re just determining those between New Zealand and the U.S. McMurdo base and others,” she said.
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
The company, which is also a fixture in Canada’s North, has been sending planes to Antarctica for the past 28 years.
In 2001, its pilots and planes were involved in the daring rescue of an ailing American doctor from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
In 2009, the company was commissioned to recover an aircraft that had been involved in an accident nearly a year earlier. A 12-person Kenn Borek recovery crew spent 25 days at a remote field camp on the eastern side of the Antarctic Plateau to carry out the operation.
Crew believed to be dead as plane lost in Antarctic spotted on side of mountain | World | News | National Post
The wreckage of a Twin Otter aircraft missing for several days in Antarctica was found late Friday night and the three-member Canadian crew is believed to be dead.
Two helicopters dispatched by the Rescue Coordination Centre in New Zealand — it was early Saturday evening local time — confirmed earlier sightings of the wreckage of the craft operated by Kenn Borek Air of Calgary on a steep slope near the summit of Mount Elizabeth.
Officials with the centre said the impact appears to have been direct and would not have been survivable.
The next of kin of the three men have been informed.
The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik while media reports have identified a second crew member as Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek website.
The third crew member had not yet been identified.
Rescue mission coordinator Tracy Brickles said it was very sad end to the operation.
“It has been difficult operation in challenging conditions but we remained hopeful of a positive result,” she said. “Our thoughts are now with the families of the crewmen.”
The plane took off last Wednesday from the South Pole, headed to an Italian base in Antarctica’s Terra Nova Bay, but it never arrived.
An emergency locator beacon was detected coming from the north end of Antarctica’s Queen Alexandra range — about halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station, a U.S. research centre.
New Zealand search and rescue teams were hampered by bad weather over the next couple of days — snow, bitter cold, high winds and low cloud cover made it impossible for planes passing over the site to see anything.
Then, the locator signal stopped. Officials said that wasn’t unusual, as the battery life of the device is not long, but the information they had gleaned allowed them to pinpoint the plane’s coordinates.
Related
- Crews again can’t reach downed plane in Antarctic carrying three Canadians
- Heavy snow hampers search for three Canadians aboard plane missing in Antarctica
On Friday, a break in the weather allowed rescuers to set up a forward base at
Beardmore Glacier, about 50 kilometres from the crash site, where there is a landing strip and a fuel depot.
Working in their favour was the fact that at this time of year, nearly 24-hour daylight allowed for longer search hours.
Helicopters and other planes were called in to bring supplies and aid in the search.
A statement on the Kenn Borek Air website said visual contact with the wreckage was first made by a C-130 Hercules aircraft of the New York Air National Guard, and the sighting was later confirmed by another Twin Otter deployed by the airline.
“Every rescue mission, you hope for the best,” said Pania Shingleton, a spokeswoman for the rescue centre.
“Even yesterday we were hopeful because they were pretty well equipped and they knew what to do in a tough environment.”
Indeed, those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien
Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Heath had logged thousands of hours teaching young flyers in regions from the Maritimes to northern Ontario, said Roger Townsend, who was a co-pilot with Heath out of Red Lake, Ont.
His Twin Otter was well-equipped with survival equipment, including mountain tents and supplies which could have lasted five days.
What will happen next was not immediately clear.
According to the Kenn Borek statement, if weather conditions are favourable, helicopter crews and mountain rescue personnel will attempt to access the crash site on Saturday morning.
Shingleton said no decisions had yet been made on any recovery mission.
“There are obviously things that still need to be decided. We’re just determining those between New Zealand and the U.S. McMurdo base and others,” she said.
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
The company, which is also a fixture in Canada’s North, has been sending planes to Antarctica for the past 28 years.
In 2001, its pilots and planes were involved in the daring rescue of an ailing American doctor from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
In 2009, the company was commissioned to recover an aircraft that had been involved in an accident nearly a year earlier. A 12-person Kenn Borek recovery crew spent 25 days at a remote field camp on the eastern side of the Antarctic Plateau to carry out the operation.
Crew believed to be dead as plane lost in Antarctic spotted on side of mountain | World | News | National Post
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Antarctic crash deemed 'not survivable' for 3 Canadians
Search and rescue crew reports overdue aircraft hit mountain slope
CBC News
Posted: Jan 26, 2013 3:20 AM ET
The wreckage of an aircraft missing in Antarctica has been found and the three-member Canadian crew that was on board is presumed to be dead.
Search and rescue workers made visual contact with the plane's crash site late Friday night Mountain Time and the mission has now become a recovery effort.
The plane's operator, Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air, said in a written statement that the scene of the crash appeared to search and rescue crews to be "not survivable."
A New York National Guard Hercules aircraft first made visual contact with the overdue plane, the statement said.
"The sighting was confirmed approximately thirty minutes later by a Kenn Borek Air Ltd. Twin Otter aircraft deployed in a search and rescue role.
"The crew of the SAR Twin Otter reports that the overdue aircraft impacted a steep snow and ice-covered mountain slope.
"No signs of activity are evident in the area surrounding the site, and it appears that the impact was not survivable," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the company said the families of the victims have been notified.
Searchers unable to land at site
The search and rescue Twin Otter was unable to land at the crash site after making visual contact due to the challenging terrain and ongoing weather conditions.
Helicopter crews and mountain rescue experts will attempt to access the site over the next nine hours during a break in the weather.
New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre had been organizing the search with the help of Canadian and U.S. authorities.
The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik, N.W.T. (Courtesy Lucy Heath)But fierce winds, snow and low cloud cover hampered search efforts since the plane went down near the northern end of the Queen Alexandra mountain range, some 450 kilometres from the South Pole.
The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik while media reports have identified a second crew member as Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek website.
The third crew member had not yet been identified.
The missing plane had been transmitting an emergency beacon signal since late Wednesday, local time, alerting rescuers to the plane's exact co-ordinates, but the battery appears to have since died.
Rescuers pinpointed the plane to be halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station, a U.S. research facility in Antarctica.
The missing plane had been flying from the South Pole to an Italian base in Antarctica's Terra Nova Bay. A spokesman for the U.S. National Science Foundation has said the flight was in support of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.
Antarctic crash deemed 'not survivable' for 3 Canadians - World - CBC News
Search and rescue crew reports overdue aircraft hit mountain slope
CBC News
Posted: Jan 26, 2013 3:20 AM ET
The wreckage of an aircraft missing in Antarctica has been found and the three-member Canadian crew that was on board is presumed to be dead.
Search and rescue workers made visual contact with the plane's crash site late Friday night Mountain Time and the mission has now become a recovery effort.
The plane's operator, Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air, said in a written statement that the scene of the crash appeared to search and rescue crews to be "not survivable."
A New York National Guard Hercules aircraft first made visual contact with the overdue plane, the statement said.
"The sighting was confirmed approximately thirty minutes later by a Kenn Borek Air Ltd. Twin Otter aircraft deployed in a search and rescue role.
"The crew of the SAR Twin Otter reports that the overdue aircraft impacted a steep snow and ice-covered mountain slope.
"No signs of activity are evident in the area surrounding the site, and it appears that the impact was not survivable," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the company said the families of the victims have been notified.
Searchers unable to land at site
The search and rescue Twin Otter was unable to land at the crash site after making visual contact due to the challenging terrain and ongoing weather conditions.
Helicopter crews and mountain rescue experts will attempt to access the site over the next nine hours during a break in the weather.
New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre had been organizing the search with the help of Canadian and U.S. authorities.
The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik, N.W.T. (Courtesy Lucy Heath)But fierce winds, snow and low cloud cover hampered search efforts since the plane went down near the northern end of the Queen Alexandra mountain range, some 450 kilometres from the South Pole.The pilot has been identified by friends as Bob Heath of Inuvik while media reports have identified a second crew member as Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek website.
The third crew member had not yet been identified.
The missing plane had been transmitting an emergency beacon signal since late Wednesday, local time, alerting rescuers to the plane's exact co-ordinates, but the battery appears to have since died.
Rescuers pinpointed the plane to be halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo Station, a U.S. research facility in Antarctica.
The missing plane had been flying from the South Pole to an Italian base in Antarctica's Terra Nova Bay. A spokesman for the U.S. National Science Foundation has said the flight was in support of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.
Antarctic crash deemed 'not survivable' for 3 Canadians - World - CBC News
Last edited by Ramjet555; 26th Jan 2013 at 20:01.
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Here is some advice from Bob Heath quoted below:
All of the above are correct. Here's some more:
When you drive up, have a zillion copies of your resume. Don't put your picture on it. Have your (maybe not so)grand total out front so they can read it. Don't emphasize your university debating club as one of your hobbies. Bush Pilots don't debate. We always know we're right, even when we aren't.
Don't show up in a suit. Wear clean Mark's Work Warehouse type clothes with work or hiking boots, and work gloves. Not NEW ONES!
The driver you want to speak with will probably be on the Ramp or Dock hucking freight. Toss freight while you're talking. Nobody needs a special guest star while they are loading. Don't ask if you can come along. If he or she wants you to, they will ask. We are not shy up here.
Come to think of it, once the driver takes off with his Norseman load of crap, talk at length to the Ramp Rats.
Heck, buy 'em a coffee! They could easily be would-be pilots. And NOBODY knows the operation better than the rats.
If you haven't a clue ask them how to load a snowmachine, boats, drums, sattelite dish and anything else wierd you see lying around the dock. Remember, if where you are standing is the end of the road, then anything and everything you need for a small town has to be flown in.
Hopefully by you! Make notes on how this crap is loaded, take pictures. Sure as heck they don't cover this in the edmonton flying club ground-school!
If you can, borrow a map for the perspective area. Know how to read all the details of a map like the saturday comics. GPS will probably be turned off for your check-ride. Know where the usual destinations are.
You studied up before each ride right? In the hope of getting a job? It's no diferent- each little talk is a check-ride. Keep a file of who you talked to, and about whtat and when is a good time to talk to them again. Then make sure you call back
Speaking of destinations...Is there a bar or coffee shop that area drivers favor? Be in at O 'dark thirty and pay attention. In Redl Lake fer instance the Lakeview Restaurant at o dark thirty is going to have a bunch of airplane people in it.
Buy a boy scout manual at a yard sale. Master all the knots in it. Learn how to splice.
Get a thermos and a sleeping bag. Learn how to sit and wait for te chief pilot to come sauntering out of the office door. Talk to a stalker for more advise on this.
At each stop, there will probably be a library in town. Get a hotmail yahoo or similar account. Check it at each stop. That job offer might just be there for a limited time only.
When asked about career expections, you might consider letting the interviewer know that eventually you want to drive something bigger. Just leave the impression that that 'something biger' is a twin otter or a hawker, not the Airbus 330 or something.
Find out the rudiments of smalll engine repair, and how to trouble-shoot a propane fridge. Joe McBryan in the 'Knife always asks people if they have a trade. He doesn't mean do you have an ATPL. He wants to know what other skills you possess that can help him keep his small airline alive. Maybe to you its a stepping stone. To him and guys like him the business is his RRSP.
Presumably, there are going to be customers of the airline.If it's in the bush, a fair bet is that they will be native. Learn how to say hi, bye and thanks in their language. Customer service is important. In Cree, its Tansi or boujou, and Meegwutch for thanks. WAY up north thanks can be Masi or Masi 'Cho.
Up at the top its Quayanakpak, Daigoo, Quayanaini, Quana, Quayanomin Nakomin, (going left to right from Siberia to Greenland.)
If you are going on your trip up to april or after labour day, bring a parka. not a shiny clean ski jacket. You might want to consider buying a reynolds flight suit, so if you do get hired you fit right in. Pile enough crap in the car that if you do get a job, you can start right now. Every employer wants two weeks notice before you bail, but they also want you that afternoon if they hire you.
Remember that life is a journey, not a destination, (especially if your destination when hired is Pikangikum, Stoney Rapids Shammatawa, Rae Edzo, or Lake Harbour) so if they offer you a ramp job, grab it, and work it as if the one thing in life you wanted to do was get to work a pallet jack. That way paradoxically, you won't spend as much time on the pallet jack.
Have fun. We did.
Note:
I remember much of the advice given above. At Pikangikum I used Meegwutch, and other words at other places that I don't recall now.
I'll add to Bob's advice.
When you are in Native communities, you show respect, lots of respect, you do a lot of listening and don't stare people in the eyes. It's a different culture and showing respect for elders is very important.
I also remember Bob's advice about maps, I flew with him so you paid respect. I went out and spent $100 on lots of smaller scale maps, all covered with map plastic and the routes coloured in. You got to know ever feature around for large distances and knew where to spot all the unusual sights.
I remember trying to pass on the same information to copilots when I went captain in the same area and you soon came to see who was going to be an asset to aviation or a royal pain that was more interested in stabbing other pilots in the back to get ahead.
And, if you end up in an unsafe abusive job, get the hell out of there because they will never respect your hard work or principles. That's when you start looking for another job, and if your former Captain's name was Bob Heath, you have a hell of a reference for you next job. At least it was that way for me.
Ramjet
All of the above are correct. Here's some more:
When you drive up, have a zillion copies of your resume. Don't put your picture on it. Have your (maybe not so)grand total out front so they can read it. Don't emphasize your university debating club as one of your hobbies. Bush Pilots don't debate. We always know we're right, even when we aren't.
Don't show up in a suit. Wear clean Mark's Work Warehouse type clothes with work or hiking boots, and work gloves. Not NEW ONES!
The driver you want to speak with will probably be on the Ramp or Dock hucking freight. Toss freight while you're talking. Nobody needs a special guest star while they are loading. Don't ask if you can come along. If he or she wants you to, they will ask. We are not shy up here.
Come to think of it, once the driver takes off with his Norseman load of crap, talk at length to the Ramp Rats.
Heck, buy 'em a coffee! They could easily be would-be pilots. And NOBODY knows the operation better than the rats.
If you haven't a clue ask them how to load a snowmachine, boats, drums, sattelite dish and anything else wierd you see lying around the dock. Remember, if where you are standing is the end of the road, then anything and everything you need for a small town has to be flown in.
Hopefully by you! Make notes on how this crap is loaded, take pictures. Sure as heck they don't cover this in the edmonton flying club ground-school!
If you can, borrow a map for the perspective area. Know how to read all the details of a map like the saturday comics. GPS will probably be turned off for your check-ride. Know where the usual destinations are.
You studied up before each ride right? In the hope of getting a job? It's no diferent- each little talk is a check-ride. Keep a file of who you talked to, and about whtat and when is a good time to talk to them again. Then make sure you call back
Speaking of destinations...Is there a bar or coffee shop that area drivers favor? Be in at O 'dark thirty and pay attention. In Redl Lake fer instance the Lakeview Restaurant at o dark thirty is going to have a bunch of airplane people in it.
Buy a boy scout manual at a yard sale. Master all the knots in it. Learn how to splice.
Get a thermos and a sleeping bag. Learn how to sit and wait for te chief pilot to come sauntering out of the office door. Talk to a stalker for more advise on this.
At each stop, there will probably be a library in town. Get a hotmail yahoo or similar account. Check it at each stop. That job offer might just be there for a limited time only.
When asked about career expections, you might consider letting the interviewer know that eventually you want to drive something bigger. Just leave the impression that that 'something biger' is a twin otter or a hawker, not the Airbus 330 or something.
Find out the rudiments of smalll engine repair, and how to trouble-shoot a propane fridge. Joe McBryan in the 'Knife always asks people if they have a trade. He doesn't mean do you have an ATPL. He wants to know what other skills you possess that can help him keep his small airline alive. Maybe to you its a stepping stone. To him and guys like him the business is his RRSP.
Presumably, there are going to be customers of the airline.If it's in the bush, a fair bet is that they will be native. Learn how to say hi, bye and thanks in their language. Customer service is important. In Cree, its Tansi or boujou, and Meegwutch for thanks. WAY up north thanks can be Masi or Masi 'Cho.
Up at the top its Quayanakpak, Daigoo, Quayanaini, Quana, Quayanomin Nakomin, (going left to right from Siberia to Greenland.)
If you are going on your trip up to april or after labour day, bring a parka. not a shiny clean ski jacket. You might want to consider buying a reynolds flight suit, so if you do get hired you fit right in. Pile enough crap in the car that if you do get a job, you can start right now. Every employer wants two weeks notice before you bail, but they also want you that afternoon if they hire you.
Remember that life is a journey, not a destination, (especially if your destination when hired is Pikangikum, Stoney Rapids Shammatawa, Rae Edzo, or Lake Harbour) so if they offer you a ramp job, grab it, and work it as if the one thing in life you wanted to do was get to work a pallet jack. That way paradoxically, you won't spend as much time on the pallet jack.
Have fun. We did.
Note:
I remember much of the advice given above. At Pikangikum I used Meegwutch, and other words at other places that I don't recall now.
I'll add to Bob's advice.
When you are in Native communities, you show respect, lots of respect, you do a lot of listening and don't stare people in the eyes. It's a different culture and showing respect for elders is very important.
I also remember Bob's advice about maps, I flew with him so you paid respect. I went out and spent $100 on lots of smaller scale maps, all covered with map plastic and the routes coloured in. You got to know ever feature around for large distances and knew where to spot all the unusual sights.
I remember trying to pass on the same information to copilots when I went captain in the same area and you soon came to see who was going to be an asset to aviation or a royal pain that was more interested in stabbing other pilots in the back to get ahead.
And, if you end up in an unsafe abusive job, get the hell out of there because they will never respect your hard work or principles. That's when you start looking for another job, and if your former Captain's name was Bob Heath, you have a hell of a reference for you next job. At least it was that way for me.
Ramjet
Last edited by Ramjet555; 29th Jan 2013 at 04:25.
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Memorial held in Antarctica for three Canadians killed in plane crash
Cockpit voice recorder, other equipment found in wreckage
By Clara Ho and Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald January 28, 2013
People take part in a memorial ceremony for the Kenn Borek aircrew who died in last week's crash in Antarctica, at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Monday, Jan.28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-National Science Foundation-Blaise Kuo Tiong
Photograph by: Blaise Kuo Tiong , THE CANADIAN PRESS
A memorial service has been held in Antarctica to honour three Canadians who died in a plane crash there last week.
The three employees of Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air were killed when their Twin Otter slammed into a mountain on Wednesday.
The U.S. National Science Foundation held the ceremony at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The agency says the dead men made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting scientific research in a remote and hostile environment.
Aboard the aircraft was pilot Bob Heath of Inuvik, Mike Denton of Calgary and a third Canadian identified in media reports as Perry Andersen, of Collingwood, Ont.
American and New Zealand searchers were able to recover the voice recorder from the plane’s tail and it’s being sent to Ottawa to be examined.
But searchers have decided they cannot safely recover the bodies of the men until possibly October, when winter in Antarctica is over.
The earlier Herald story, filed Sunday:
CALGARY — Search and rescue members have postponed a mission to recover the bodies of three Canadians who died last week in an Antarctic plane crash because it is too dangerous.
However, they successfully retrieved some equipment that may help authorities piece together what led to the crash.
Crews were unable to reach the men as the wreckage is embedded in snow and ice on a steep mountain slope, officials said Sunday.
“It’s in a highly hazardous area and the plane suffered a severe impact with the mountainside,” said Graeme Ayres, manager of operations and infrastructure with Antarctica New Zealand.
The only accessible parts of the plane were the tail and rear fuselage.
“The weather is just too unpredictable and the field team was operating in extremely low temperatures. We don’t want those people exposed to further risk.”
Crews are also nearing the end of this Antarctic research season, with winter on its way to the southern hemisphere, so they made the difficult decision to postpone recovery efforts, said Peter West, spokesman with the U.S. National Science Foundation.
“The window of opportunity to do something this season is closing,” he said.
Ayres said the plan is to wait until the next research season, which begins in October and runs through the end of February, to resume efforts to recover the men’s remains. Ideally, the best time to restart the recovery would be November or December when the weather is calmer, he said.
The team, however, was able to retrieve some equipment from the craft, including the cockpit voice recorder from the exposed tail of the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air.
Ayres said the recorder could help provide aviation authorities with information that could start “building a picture” of what caused the crash.
The joint American and New Zealand search team tasked with the recovery operation started returning to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station and Antarctica New Zealand’s Scott Base later Sunday.
The aircraft — which had been missing for days — was spotted early Saturday by a New York Air National Guard plane, and later by another Kenn Borek aircraft. The search for the missing plane was led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in New Zealand.
Its tail was visible at 3,900 metres on the 4,480-metre Mount Elizabeth. There was no sign of activity and the crash was deemed “not survivable” by Kenn Borek Air.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) plans to investigate what went wrong and has started collecting data and conducting interviews.
“The TSB is awaiting more detailed information from on-site before determining our next steps,” spokeswoman Julie Leroux said Saturday. “Because it’s a flight from Canada, we have the jurisdiction.”
The sighting of the downed plane comes after searchers were frustrated by ongoing poor weather in the Queen Alexandra Range.
Heavy clouds, strong wind and blowing snow made it impossible to spot the aircraft. Those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, issued a statement Saturday thanking rescuers and offering condolences to family and friends of the three Canadians. “On behalf of Canada, I sincerely thank the New Zealand, U.S., Italian and civilian search and rescue teams for the valiant efforts they have made over the last several days to locate the missing plane,” she said.
“Canadian officials will continue to work closely with local authorities in New Zealand and stand ready to provide any needed consular assistance to the families.”
The plane was in the southern continent to support the work of both the American National Science Foundation and the Italian Antarctic Program. It was en route from the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and heading to the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay when contact was lost. Searchers followed the signal from the emergency beacon hoping the occupants could be saved, but the amount of damage on the plane dashed any possibility the men survived the crash.
A New York Air National Guard LC-130 was the first to spot the Kenn Borek plane. Another Twin Otter went to the site and made the determination that a fixed-wing plane could not land on-site.
Two helicopters — one from New Zealand and another from Louisiana — were stationed at a small camp 50 kilometres away to help.
Crews planned to bring the men’s bodies to New Zealand and then repatriate them to Canada. Both Ayres and Michael Flyger with New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre declined to comment on reports that the pilot may have turned too early while navigating a mountain range.
But Ayres said the fatal crash has been tough for those involved in the search and recovery.
“The Antarctic community was very close knit and, from New Zealand, we share a very close relationship with Canadians,” he said.
“It’s hit our team pretty hard at Scott base, same with the Americans, and I know the Italians are feeling very sad about this because the aircraft was on its way to support them.”
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
With files from the Canadian Press
[email protected]
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
A memorial service has been held in Antarctica to honour three Canadians who died in a plane crash there last week.
The three employees of Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air were killed when their Twin Otter slammed into a mountain on Wednesday.
The U.S. National Science Foundation held the ceremony at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The agency says the dead men made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting scientific research in a remote and hostile environment.
Aboard the aircraft was pilot Bob Heath of Inuvik, Mike Denton of Calgary and a third Canadian identified in media reports as Perry Andersen, of Collingwood, Ont.
American and New Zealand searchers were able to recover the voice recorder from the plane’s tail and it’s being sent to Ottawa to be examined.
But searchers have decided they cannot safely recover the bodies of the men until possibly October, when winter in Antarctica is over.
The earlier Herald story, filed Sunday:
CALGARY — Search and rescue members have postponed a mission to recover the bodies of three Canadians who died last week in an Antarctic plane crash because it is too dangerous.
However, they successfully retrieved some equipment that may help authorities piece together what led to the crash.
Crews were unable to reach the men as the wreckage is embedded in snow and ice on a steep mountain slope, officials said Sunday.
“It’s in a highly hazardous area and the plane suffered a severe impact with the mountainside,” said Graeme Ayres, manager of operations and infrastructure with Antarctica New Zealand.
The only accessible parts of the plane were the tail and rear fuselage.
“The weather is just too unpredictable and the field team was operating in extremely low temperatures. We don’t want those people exposed to further risk.”
Crews are also nearing the end of this Antarctic research season, with winter on its way to the southern hemisphere, so they made the difficult decision to postpone recovery efforts, said Peter West, spokesman with the U.S. National Science Foundation.
“The window of opportunity to do something this season is closing,” he said.
Ayres said the plan is to wait until the next research season, which begins in October and runs through the end of February, to resume efforts to recover the men’s remains. Ideally, the best time to restart the recovery would be November or December when the weather is calmer, he said.
The team, however, was able to retrieve some equipment from the craft, including the cockpit voice recorder from the exposed tail of the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air.
Ayres said the recorder could help provide aviation authorities with information that could start “building a picture” of what caused the crash.
The joint American and New Zealand search team tasked with the recovery operation started returning to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station and Antarctica New Zealand’s Scott Base later Sunday.
The aircraft — which had been missing for days — was spotted early Saturday by a New York Air National Guard plane, and later by another Kenn Borek aircraft. The search for the missing plane was led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in New Zealand.
Its tail was visible at 3,900 metres on the 4,480-metre Mount Elizabeth. There was no sign of activity and the crash was deemed “not survivable” by Kenn Borek Air.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) plans to investigate what went wrong and has started collecting data and conducting interviews.
“The TSB is awaiting more detailed information from on-site before determining our next steps,” spokeswoman Julie Leroux said Saturday. “Because it’s a flight from Canada, we have the jurisdiction.”
The sighting of the downed plane comes after searchers were frustrated by ongoing poor weather in the Queen Alexandra Range.
Heavy clouds, strong wind and blowing snow made it impossible to spot the aircraft. Those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, issued a statement Saturday thanking rescuers and offering condolences to family and friends of the three Canadians. “On behalf of Canada, I sincerely thank the New Zealand, U.S., Italian and civilian search and rescue teams for the valiant efforts they have made over the last several days to locate the missing plane,” she said.
“Canadian officials will continue to work closely with local authorities in New Zealand and stand ready to provide any needed consular assistance to the families.”
The plane was in the southern continent to support the work of both the American National Science Foundation and the Italian Antarctic Program. It was en route from the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and heading to the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay when contact was lost. Searchers followed the signal from the emergency beacon hoping the occupants could be saved, but the amount of damage on the plane dashed any possibility the men survived the crash.
A New York Air National Guard LC-130 was the first to spot the Kenn Borek plane. Another Twin Otter went to the site and made the determination that a fixed-wing plane could not land on-site.
Two helicopters — one from New Zealand and another from Louisiana — were stationed at a small camp 50 kilometres away to help.
Crews planned to bring the men’s bodies to New Zealand and then repatriate them to Canada. Both Ayres and Michael Flyger with New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre declined to comment on reports that the pilot may have turned too early while navigating a mountain range.
But Ayres said the fatal crash has been tough for those involved in the search and recovery.
“The Antarctic community was very close knit and, from New Zealand, we share a very close relationship with Canadians,” he said.
“It’s hit our team pretty hard at Scott base, same with the Americans, and I know the Italians are feeling very sad about this because the aircraft was on its way to support them.”
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
With files from the Canadian Press
[email protected]
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Memorial held in Antarctica for three Canadians killed in plane crash
Cockpit voice recorder, other equipment found in wreckage
By Clara Ho and Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald January 28, 2013
People take part in a memorial ceremony for the Kenn Borek aircrew who died in last week's crash in Antarctica, at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Monday, Jan.28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-National Science Foundation-Blaise Kuo Tiong
Photograph by: Blaise Kuo Tiong , THE CANADIAN PRESS
A memorial service has been held in Antarctica to honour three Canadians who died in a plane crash there last week.
The three employees of Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air were killed when their Twin Otter slammed into a mountain on Wednesday.
The U.S. National Science Foundation held the ceremony at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The agency says the dead men made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting scientific research in a remote and hostile environment.
Aboard the aircraft was pilot Bob Heath of Inuvik, Mike Denton of Calgary and a third Canadian identified in media reports as Perry Andersen, of Collingwood, Ont.
American and New Zealand searchers were able to recover the voice recorder from the plane’s tail and it’s being sent to Ottawa to be examined.
But searchers have decided they cannot safely recover the bodies of the men until possibly October, when winter in Antarctica is over.
The earlier Herald story, filed Sunday:
CALGARY — Search and rescue members have postponed a mission to recover the bodies of three Canadians who died last week in an Antarctic plane crash because it is too dangerous.
However, they successfully retrieved some equipment that may help authorities piece together what led to the crash.
Crews were unable to reach the men as the wreckage is embedded in snow and ice on a steep mountain slope, officials said Sunday.
“It’s in a highly hazardous area and the plane suffered a severe impact with the mountainside,” said Graeme Ayres, manager of operations and infrastructure with Antarctica New Zealand.
The only accessible parts of the plane were the tail and rear fuselage.
“The weather is just too unpredictable and the field team was operating in extremely low temperatures. We don’t want those people exposed to further risk.”
Crews are also nearing the end of this Antarctic research season, with winter on its way to the southern hemisphere, so they made the difficult decision to postpone recovery efforts, said Peter West, spokesman with the U.S. National Science Foundation.
“The window of opportunity to do something this season is closing,” he said.
Ayres said the plan is to wait until the next research season, which begins in October and runs through the end of February, to resume efforts to recover the men’s remains. Ideally, the best time to restart the recovery would be November or December when the weather is calmer, he said.
The team, however, was able to retrieve some equipment from the craft, including the cockpit voice recorder from the exposed tail of the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air.
Ayres said the recorder could help provide aviation authorities with information that could start “building a picture” of what caused the crash.
The joint American and New Zealand search team tasked with the recovery operation started returning to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station and Antarctica New Zealand’s Scott Base later Sunday.
The aircraft — which had been missing for days — was spotted early Saturday by a New York Air National Guard plane, and later by another Kenn Borek aircraft. The search for the missing plane was led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in New Zealand.
Its tail was visible at 3,900 metres on the 4,480-metre Mount Elizabeth. There was no sign of activity and the crash was deemed “not survivable” by Kenn Borek Air.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) plans to investigate what went wrong and has started collecting data and conducting interviews.
“The TSB is awaiting more detailed information from on-site before determining our next steps,” spokeswoman Julie Leroux said Saturday. “Because it’s a flight from Canada, we have the jurisdiction.”
The sighting of the downed plane comes after searchers were frustrated by ongoing poor weather in the Queen Alexandra Range.
Heavy clouds, strong wind and blowing snow made it impossible to spot the aircraft. Those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, issued a statement Saturday thanking rescuers and offering condolences to family and friends of the three Canadians. “On behalf of Canada, I sincerely thank the New Zealand, U.S., Italian and civilian search and rescue teams for the valiant efforts they have made over the last several days to locate the missing plane,” she said.
“Canadian officials will continue to work closely with local authorities in New Zealand and stand ready to provide any needed consular assistance to the families.”
The plane was in the southern continent to support the work of both the American National Science Foundation and the Italian Antarctic Program. It was en route from the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and heading to the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay when contact was lost. Searchers followed the signal from the emergency beacon hoping the occupants could be saved, but the amount of damage on the plane dashed any possibility the men survived the crash.
A New York Air National Guard LC-130 was the first to spot the Kenn Borek plane. Another Twin Otter went to the site and made the determination that a fixed-wing plane could not land on-site.
Two helicopters — one from New Zealand and another from Louisiana — were stationed at a small camp 50 kilometres away to help.
Crews planned to bring the men’s bodies to New Zealand and then repatriate them to Canada. Both Ayres and Michael Flyger with New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre declined to comment on reports that the pilot may have turned too early while navigating a mountain range.
But Ayres said the fatal crash has been tough for those involved in the search and recovery.
“The Antarctic community was very close knit and, from New Zealand, we share a very close relationship with Canadians,” he said.
“It’s hit our team pretty hard at Scott base, same with the Americans, and I know the Italians are feeling very sad about this because the aircraft was on its way to support them.”
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
With files from the Canadian Press
[email protected]
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
A memorial service has been held in Antarctica to honour three Canadians who died in a plane crash there last week.
The three employees of Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air were killed when their Twin Otter slammed into a mountain on Wednesday.
The U.S. National Science Foundation held the ceremony at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The agency says the dead men made the ultimate sacrifice while supporting scientific research in a remote and hostile environment.
Aboard the aircraft was pilot Bob Heath of Inuvik, Mike Denton of Calgary and a third Canadian identified in media reports as Perry Andersen, of Collingwood, Ont.
American and New Zealand searchers were able to recover the voice recorder from the plane’s tail and it’s being sent to Ottawa to be examined.
But searchers have decided they cannot safely recover the bodies of the men until possibly October, when winter in Antarctica is over.
The earlier Herald story, filed Sunday:
CALGARY — Search and rescue members have postponed a mission to recover the bodies of three Canadians who died last week in an Antarctic plane crash because it is too dangerous.
However, they successfully retrieved some equipment that may help authorities piece together what led to the crash.
Crews were unable to reach the men as the wreckage is embedded in snow and ice on a steep mountain slope, officials said Sunday.
“It’s in a highly hazardous area and the plane suffered a severe impact with the mountainside,” said Graeme Ayres, manager of operations and infrastructure with Antarctica New Zealand.
The only accessible parts of the plane were the tail and rear fuselage.
“The weather is just too unpredictable and the field team was operating in extremely low temperatures. We don’t want those people exposed to further risk.”
Crews are also nearing the end of this Antarctic research season, with winter on its way to the southern hemisphere, so they made the difficult decision to postpone recovery efforts, said Peter West, spokesman with the U.S. National Science Foundation.
“The window of opportunity to do something this season is closing,” he said.
Ayres said the plan is to wait until the next research season, which begins in October and runs through the end of February, to resume efforts to recover the men’s remains. Ideally, the best time to restart the recovery would be November or December when the weather is calmer, he said.
The team, however, was able to retrieve some equipment from the craft, including the cockpit voice recorder from the exposed tail of the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air.
Ayres said the recorder could help provide aviation authorities with information that could start “building a picture” of what caused the crash.
The joint American and New Zealand search team tasked with the recovery operation started returning to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station and Antarctica New Zealand’s Scott Base later Sunday.
The aircraft — which had been missing for days — was spotted early Saturday by a New York Air National Guard plane, and later by another Kenn Borek aircraft. The search for the missing plane was led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in New Zealand.
Its tail was visible at 3,900 metres on the 4,480-metre Mount Elizabeth. There was no sign of activity and the crash was deemed “not survivable” by Kenn Borek Air.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) plans to investigate what went wrong and has started collecting data and conducting interviews.
“The TSB is awaiting more detailed information from on-site before determining our next steps,” spokeswoman Julie Leroux said Saturday. “Because it’s a flight from Canada, we have the jurisdiction.”
The sighting of the downed plane comes after searchers were frustrated by ongoing poor weather in the Queen Alexandra Range.
Heavy clouds, strong wind and blowing snow made it impossible to spot the aircraft. Those who knew Heath said if anyone would know how to survive such a crash, it would be the highly experienced pilot.
“He’s a bit of a living legend up (North),” friend and fellow pilot Sebastien Seykora said earlier this week.
“He’s been flying down there for at least a decade. If somebody had a question about how to do things, especially about going down there, he would be the guy they would ask.”
Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, issued a statement Saturday thanking rescuers and offering condolences to family and friends of the three Canadians. “On behalf of Canada, I sincerely thank the New Zealand, U.S., Italian and civilian search and rescue teams for the valiant efforts they have made over the last several days to locate the missing plane,” she said.
“Canadian officials will continue to work closely with local authorities in New Zealand and stand ready to provide any needed consular assistance to the families.”
The plane was in the southern continent to support the work of both the American National Science Foundation and the Italian Antarctic Program. It was en route from the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and heading to the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay when contact was lost. Searchers followed the signal from the emergency beacon hoping the occupants could be saved, but the amount of damage on the plane dashed any possibility the men survived the crash.
A New York Air National Guard LC-130 was the first to spot the Kenn Borek plane. Another Twin Otter went to the site and made the determination that a fixed-wing plane could not land on-site.
Two helicopters — one from New Zealand and another from Louisiana — were stationed at a small camp 50 kilometres away to help.
Crews planned to bring the men’s bodies to New Zealand and then repatriate them to Canada. Both Ayres and Michael Flyger with New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre declined to comment on reports that the pilot may have turned too early while navigating a mountain range.
But Ayres said the fatal crash has been tough for those involved in the search and recovery.
“The Antarctic community was very close knit and, from New Zealand, we share a very close relationship with Canadians,” he said.
“It’s hit our team pretty hard at Scott base, same with the Americans, and I know the Italians are feeling very sad about this because the aircraft was on its way to support them.”
Kenn Borek Air has been in operation since 1970. According to the company’s website, 14 aircraft participated in its 2012 Antarctic season.
With files from the Canadian Press
[email protected]
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Memorial held in Antarctica for three Canadians killed in plane crash
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Well the advice sounds great but to be realistic,
most "characters" don't need to be told that advice,
they do it automatically.
Most of those given that advice, won't respect it.
I've had to add two languages and its tough work,
learning vocab from an aboriginal language is
just incomprehensible to most people.
Bob had a hell of an advantage, his wife is a native
and she taught him a lot, Bob also had a flair for languages.
I remember how we both spoke some Spanish.
I don't remember exactly how fluent he was in Spanish
but knowing him, he could at least order a beer and find a way
to communicate.
He was also a "company man" and was part of management
but tried to insulate the junior pilots which was a tough job with
one of the greatest SOB of a general manager who used
to come on to the ramp in drunken rages and scream abuse at pilots.
That's another story
most "characters" don't need to be told that advice,
they do it automatically.
Most of those given that advice, won't respect it.
I've had to add two languages and its tough work,
learning vocab from an aboriginal language is
just incomprehensible to most people.
Bob had a hell of an advantage, his wife is a native
and she taught him a lot, Bob also had a flair for languages.
I remember how we both spoke some Spanish.
I don't remember exactly how fluent he was in Spanish
but knowing him, he could at least order a beer and find a way
to communicate.
He was also a "company man" and was part of management
but tried to insulate the junior pilots which was a tough job with
one of the greatest SOB of a general manager who used
to come on to the ramp in drunken rages and scream abuse at pilots.
That's another story
For those of you that knew Bob his Sister is holding a memorial in yyz this weekend. See the avcanada posting for details
details
Hi everyone, today I was contacted by Bob's(Just Curious) niece about spreading the word regarding a get together for Bob, Mike and Perry. The party will take place this Saturday at bob's nieces house in Toronto, everyone is welcome! The address is below and we look forward to seeing you and hearing some great stories.
1 Jainey Place
Toronto, On
M5m 3s6
Saturday February 2nd.
Start time is 5pm.
any questions I can be contacted through Avcanada, or at (416) 540-0498... or you can contact Bob's niece Kelly at (416) 450-1009
thanks,
Tim.
[email protected]
details
Hi everyone, today I was contacted by Bob's(Just Curious) niece about spreading the word regarding a get together for Bob, Mike and Perry. The party will take place this Saturday at bob's nieces house in Toronto, everyone is welcome! The address is below and we look forward to seeing you and hearing some great stories.
1 Jainey Place
Toronto, On
M5m 3s6
Saturday February 2nd.
Start time is 5pm.
any questions I can be contacted through Avcanada, or at (416) 540-0498... or you can contact Bob's niece Kelly at (416) 450-1009
thanks,
Tim.
[email protected]
Last edited by rigpiggy; 1st Feb 2013 at 01:27.
No voice recording of Antarctic crash, investigators say
The cockpit voice recorder on a Canadian aircraft that went down earlier this year in Antarctica killing three people did not record the accident flight, investigators with the Transportation Safety Board say.
"We were hoping that the cockpit voice recorder would have had some dialogue between the flight crew describing what they were doing, what they saw, what decisions they were making," says Mike Tomm, a senior operations investigator with the Transportation Safety Board.
"Not having access to that information, it certainly makes this investigation a lot more challenging."
more:......
No voice recording of Antarctic crash, investigators say - Calgary - CBC News
The cockpit voice recorder on a Canadian aircraft that went down earlier this year in Antarctica killing three people did not record the accident flight, investigators with the Transportation Safety Board say.
"We were hoping that the cockpit voice recorder would have had some dialogue between the flight crew describing what they were doing, what they saw, what decisions they were making," says Mike Tomm, a senior operations investigator with the Transportation Safety Board.
"Not having access to that information, it certainly makes this investigation a lot more challenging."
more:......
No voice recording of Antarctic crash, investigators say - Calgary - CBC News
