Transwest Air founder takes over top job at West Wind

SASKATOON West Wind Aviation, which has been grounded since one of its airliners crashed late last year, has appointed a new president and chief executive officer.

Gord Gillespie, who took over as head of the Saskatoon-based airline in 2011, was succeeded this week by Patrick Campling Jr., a founder and former owner of Transwest Air, a Prince Albert-based airline bought by West Wind in 2016.

West Wind’s fleet of short-haul aircraft has been parked on the ramp since Dec. 22, when Transport Canada suspended the company’s airline operator certificate following a deadly crash near Fond du Lac earlier that month.

Dennis Baranieski, the airline’s vice-president of business development, confirmed the leadership change and said Gillespie will retire from the company on June 1 after 45 years in the industry, but relinquished his position as CEO on Monday.

Campling has “about 38 years of aviation experience, leading a similar-sized company in the past, Transwest Air, and (is) the right individual to come in and help guide West Wind Aviation in its future,” Baranieski said.

Gillespie could not be reached for comment.

Twenty-two passengers and three crew members were aboard the ATR-42 when it crashed into the forest on Dec. 13,after taking off from the remote community about 800 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

One person injured in the crash, 19-year-old Arson Fern Jr., died 12 days later.

The Transportation Safety Board has ruled out engine failure as the cause, of the crash, but the incident remains under investigation. The aviation safety watchdog ’s probe is expected to take months to complete.

Transport Canada on Thursday confirmed that the company’s certificate remains suspended. Baranieski said the company continues to work closely with the federal ministry following the “very unfortunate and very devastating ” crash.

Last month, West Wind laid off 10 first officers — almost 20 per cent of its 52 pilots. The airline attributed the decision to reduced mining and resource exploration in northern Saskatchewan.