Airport comments by @Mick11

Comments 1 to 6 of 6

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First Air friend reported drunken fss, drunken maintenance c

I was just chatting with a friend who works for First Air up in Resolute. He was telling me that this past fall the CARS guy was wasted at work and they had to wake him up. Then later the same week the maintenance guy was suspended for driving drunk on the airstrip. He was telling me that first air had a bad crash there last year, a 737. Loss of life/aircraft. He said the guys were playing video games in the office when it happened. The weather was way off from what the guy was reporting then (the same guy who was drunk and had to be woken up before). Somebody has to stand up and do something about this kind of lawless operation in the north. It's aviation for x sakes, not a janitorial business. Transport should run these northern communities directly to ensure they are operated up to standard. How many people are going to die or risk their lives before something is done?

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Pretty good

One of the 3 acceptable operations in the north. (Iquialiut and Rankin Inlet are the other two)

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re: Not the base for Borek but anyway

*should read rwy 14/32

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Not the base for Borek but anyway

Borek is based in Calgary. The have an ops in iqualiut and resolute. Forget landing here in anything but a gentle breeze. Tight approach rwy 35 i think. RWY17 is for CAVOK and calm, daylight only. Takeoff is 17 only. The strip has some soft spots, a small wheeled plane could definitely end up in trouble here. I can't remember how long the strip is but less than 2000'. Seldom staffed. Drunk weather guy, drunk maintenance. Or if you are lucky they are all together absent. The most unreliable operation I have seen (possibly tied with Coral Harbor NWT or Iglooklik.) That is a place that I would be happy and relieved to here a VGM from! Pathetic operation it is.

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Watch out!

The maintenance folk go on and off the strip whenever they feel like it. Radio man is clueless about it. I was taking off here once and just as I was turning at the button the truck casually meandered out on the runway. When he saw me (almost on top of the plane he darted back and forth like a deer in the lights kinda thing. I called up CARS and asked her to repeat the traffic. She said (cheerily) none to report. I said ok thanks, just checking...heh heh (shakes his head)

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Same old same old north of 60...

The weather guys here are clueless. Hard to get people to show up when you want them to, airport operation isn't what I would call 'safe'. Same all over Canada's north.