2 AIRLINES GROUNDED
‘Lost confidence’ of regulators
Two airlines operating in the Prairie and northern regions have “lost the confidence” of federal regulators because of recurring accidents and lack of compliance with safety regulations, according to a Transport Canada briefing document.
An official confirmed on Thursday that Buffalo Airways, the Northwest Territories-based carrier that was the focus of a hit reality TV show, and Keystone Air Service of Manitoba are the operators under scrutiny.
Transport officials took the unusual step of grounding both carriers over the last two months.
“Suspending an (air operator certificate) is a serious action. While Transport Canada does not take this action frequently, we act in the interest of public safety when required,” Sean Best, a Transport Canada spokesman, said in an email.
“The suspensions will be terminated when we are satisfied that each air operator has adequately addressed our safety concerns.”
Officials from neither airline could be reached for comment on Thursday. However, Sol Taboada, a consultant hired by Buffalo Airways to address the problems, acknowledged the company did not have a robust safety verification system in place and “paperwork was spotty.”
In recent weeks, his firm has helped Buffalo Airways develop corrective action plans that included a proposal to bring in a third-party “gatekeeper” who would be responsible for making sure everything was in order before each flight. The airline’s president, Joe McBryan, known in the North as “Buffalo Joe,” also signed a letter stating that he would agree to step away from the company’s day-today operations.
Family-run Buffalo Airways, featured in the reality series Ice Pilots NWT, operates passenger flights between Hay River and Yellowknife. It also delivers cargo — including food and medical supplies — across the northern region. It has been in operation since 1970.
In August 2013, one of the company’s DC-3s had just taken off from Yellowknife with 21 passengers when an engine caught fire. The plane struck a stand of trees before making a hard landing south of the runway. No one was hurt.
In its final accident report released in April, the Transportation Safety Board said the company was not doing enough to identify hazards and reduce risks.
Keystone Air Service, a small charter airline based in Winnipeg, has been in operation since 1985. Its operating certificate was suspended on Oct. 9, a few weeks after one of its planes crashed shortly after taking off from Thompson, Man. All eight people on board survived.
According to the Transportation Safety Board, the twin piston-engine aircraft requires aviation gasoline but was fuelled with turbineengine fuel.
In January 2012, four people were killed when a Keystone flight crashed into a frozen lake in northwestern Ontario.
Pilot inexperience was cited as a key contributing factor in that crash.