Northerners jump on small charter planes like people in the south would into taxis or buses, says the co-owner of AuntySA国际影视传媒檚 Korner Store in Fort Smith, where residents have been gathering to talk about a deadly crash that occurred last month.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a way of life to get from community to community, because in the region ISA国际影视传媒檓 from there are communities that donSA国际影视传媒檛 have roads so you have to fly in there with smaller planes,SA国际影视传媒� Darlene Sibbeston told The Canadian Press.
On Jan. 23, a charter plane had just taken off from Fort Smith and was en route to the Diavik Diamond Mine when it hit the ground and caught fire.
Sibbeston is originally from Fort Simpson, where air commuting is even more common than in her current town. Last weekSA国际影视传媒檚 crash brought back terrifying memories of a flight she took in November of 2021.
She was leaving Yellowknife and bound for Fort Simpson, where she was living at the time.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 about an hour-and-a-half flight and we ran out of fuel,SA国际影视传媒� said Sibbeston, who said the plane ended up in a marshy area.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 here today. Everybody survived. It was pretty scary and in my chest right now I can feel it SA国际影视传媒� when I talk about it SA国际影视传媒� so there was points that kind of triggered that trauma.SA国际影视传媒�
Fatal plane crashes have been on a downward trend in Canada over the past decade. In 2022, there were 24 fatal accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft in Canadian airspace, compared to 42 in 2012, said the Transportation Safety Board. The number of air travellers killed decreased to 34 from 63 within the same period.
Longtime Fort Smith resident Kevin Antoniak said he flies regularly.
SA国际影视传媒淚f you flew in and out of Fort Smith in the last 20 years, that type of plane would be the one you flew in,SA国际影视传媒� he said of the British Aerospace Jetstream that crashed this week.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 a good flyer, but you got to think that the planes are all federally inspected, maintained and everything else.SA国际影视传媒�
Antoniak said aircraft are essential for those with medical needs, as it takes much longer to drive.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like taking the bus,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒淵ou can drive, but itSA国际影视传媒檚 easier for me if I can jump on the plane in the morning, fly up there (to Yellowknife) in 47 minutes, land, go to the hospital and get my blood checked and then be home for 5 p.m.SA国际影视传媒�
Chris Sigurdson, a criminal defence lawyer in Winnipeg, has been taking small planes SA国际影视传媒� often eight-seaters SA国际影视传媒� to work in remote northern Manitoba communities on the court circuit for more than 20 years. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 never been involved in a crash, and his scary moments have been memorable but few.
He recalls a hailstorm that had the plane bouncing around in strong winds like a ping-pong ball.
SA国际影视传媒淭he plane was bouncing back and forth quite dramatically and people were throwing up all around me,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒淲e fell, I think it was 500 feet (more than 150 metres), like a rock before we stabilized again.SA国际影视传媒�
Even his first circuit-court flight, to the fly-in community of St. Theresa Point, made an impression.
SA国际影视传媒淲e get there and the plane starts circling before landing, and weSA国际影视传媒檙e told that we canSA国际影视传媒檛 land until they clear the wreckage of the plane that crashed ahead of us.SA国际影视传媒�
There were no injuries in that crash, he added.
More than two decades later, Sigurdson is still flying. His travels sometimes include short rides in a helicopter, which he likes less, calling it a SA国际影视传媒渃hair in the sky.SA国际影视传媒� HeSA国际影视传媒檚 even taken a hovercraft that connects two First Nations communities over a frozen lake.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e been doing it for 23 years, and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 only been two or three times that have been in any way really scary like that. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 more that are just unpleasant but nothing thatSA国际影视传媒檚 really dramatic,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒擝y Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, with files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg and Jeremy Simes in Regina
