Plane missing in Antarctica

[cdnpilot77]

Thanks for sharing Doug, very well stroked!

[crazy_aviator]

A moving and heartful letter Doug ! I worked on the ethanol project with Parry and you (AME) boy, aviation sure is small

[ettw]

We had a short but heartfelt ceremony here at South Pole this evening for Bob, Mike, and Perry.

The Americans lowered their flag at the geographic pole and raised our Canadian flag out of respect for the lives lost this week.

Hell of a thing to keep your eyelashes from freezing together. Tears and windchill don`t mix well.

ETTW

[boeingoingone]

Very sorry to hear this news, for all the fellows lost. It reminds me of a flight I've taken 1000 times except this time they didn't make it... and it hits close to home. I worked with Bob at Kenn Borek Air, we flew together during training and check rides. He was always a happy go lucky guy with a great sense of humour, willing to share his extensive knowledge of the Twin Otter. For a guy with over 6000 hrs in the twin I was always grateful for a lesson learnt or a tip on a difficult offstrip takeoff, landing or approach. Sometimes it seemed like he'd forgotten more than I knew! It's obvious from the responses here he affected a lot of young aspiring pilots become competent Twin Otter drivers, a shame yet also a honour that his fate would would be sealed on a flight in such a specialized operation in the Antarctic. Whatever the cause it could have got the best of us, and my condolences to all the family and friends involved. RIP guys....

[DougRonan]

These are some pictures of Perry from Bob's FB page.

[bizjets101]

FromAviation Herald

[groncher]

Well said Doug Ronan, a very nice tribute.

The whole aviation community is hit hard by accidents like these. Perry's fellow engineers, especially those who have worked down south and with him have been glued to our screens hoping for a better outcome.

Blue skies to all and stay safe!

[ozone]

Very well said Doug. I really enjoyed reading that this morning!


Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet the crew. However, back in 2007 I had started a topic about starting my career as pilot/ AME. Someone by the name of Just Curious pm'd me some great advice. To this day I had never forgotten that pm. I couldn't believe someone as busy as he was would take time out of his day to give detailed advice like that. Especially to someone he didn't know. By reading all of these posts, this is just another example of the great character he had. It's very hard to come across people in this world like that.

Condolences to all of the family's involved. Fly safe everyone.

[B-rad]

Thanks Doug for the story and pictures. While it makes me sad reading it, it helps.
"Keep Flying"
May they live on in all of us.

[DougRonan]

Just went out and swept the snow off my skiplane and got the heat on it - my son and I are taking off in an hour to fly to a Celebration of Life for another young pilot that passed away suddenly (non aircraft related) a week or so ago - I was going to drive over because it's a little cold at -15 but I think I'll fly today for alot of reasons - its bright and sunny - and comparatively - its not that cold at all!!

Everyday is a great day to fly - some are just better than others!!

[esp803]

Although I never met Bob face to face I have had the pleasure of quite a few several hour long phone calls with him regarding Antarctica. Ever since that first phone call I've looked up to him as a mentor and roll model. You and your crew will be missed dearly by us all. When I get back to Canada RN and I will have that dinner we have been inviting you to for the last couple years in your honor.

May you and your crew rest in peace.

E

[PITA]

Great Post Doug - Thanks

PITA

[dune]

To me, Bob was an adventurer first, aviator second. I don't doubt that if Bob lived in the era of the first Antarctic explorers he would have been knocking on the Shackletons door, trying to secure his spot on the expedition.

I flew all over the arctic with Bob, and one of his favorite things to do was take pictures of the amazing scenery.. basically breathe it all in. He also fed off the excitement of the customers we flew. During the summer we would fly rafting groups to various rivers and he would take the scenic route to the put in spots.. The customers were always glued to the windows like it was a TV showing an epic northern documentary.

Without Bob in my life, my wife and I wouldn't have met so many wonderful people, and had such amazing experiences. He got me my first job up in Inuvik with Borek. My wife and I moved from Toronto to Inuvik with a promise of a dispatch job that Bob arranged. He eventually pushed to get me a seat on the otter and the rest was history.

I have seen so many wonderful places in this world through Borek, and it was all because of a generous man answering an email from someone he didn't know.

He was a true friend and mentor. The people he helped through their aviation careers have lost a big chunk of their heart.

Perry and Mike.. I never met either of them, but ops asks who you want to crew with when you go down for the season, and Bob picked them because he knew they were great crew. My condolences to their families.

Below is a story I posted about Bob on Facebook. I though I would share here so that people who didn't know Bob can understand what great company he was.

---

I remember a particularly funny story when we were flying back from The Ice to Calgary.

We had stopped in Arica, Chile after a long day of flying up the coast. Most of the crew was tired and wanted to eat dinner at the hotel bar around the pool. But Bob and I were craving seafood, and he knew of a great restaurant, down the road on the ocean, that he had eaten at before.

We arrived with massive appetites and I had a huge craving for fresh fried calamari. Problem was that the menu was all in Spanish and there wasn't a person in the whole place that spoke a lick of English. Bob knew quite a bit of Spanish and said he would take care of it. He was a bit rusty though, due to learning Italian at the Italian base all winter. He ordered and the waiter seemed to understand our requests.

Our meal arrived and instead of fried calamari out came calamari SOUP.

I don't think we stopped laughing the whole meal. I'm sure the bottle of red wine-that he correctly ordered in Spanish- helped that.

A new language was born, Spatallian!

In the end, the soup and the company was fantastic. It was my favorite dinner of the journey home.

I wish I knew what that soup was called.

[shawn085]

Very well done Doug. I was one of Perry's friends out here on the wet coast. We will be missed a lot by all of us that got to know him. He was lover before a fighter for sure. And he did love beer as a lot of us do. We had a lot of fun together out here with bikes, trucks and airplanes. In fact one of the things that followed him out here was his nickname. He would hate me for posting it because he always hoped that it would get forgotten. Well "Dickie" its not forgotten. I'll leave the explanation up to your imagination. We used his nickname all the time so he came up with some for us. It dove him nuts because it wasn't a name he picked. We had to keep telling him that was the point. When he moved out he couldn't believe you could smell rain coming. We just told him he needs to work on that. So when the guys would say "It smells like rain" he would get all worked up. " You can't smell rain!" we just told him to keep sniffing. I remember he bought this old early 60's VW bug with Clair. This was a project car he was going to restore after work. Most people never seem to get these kinds of projects done. But he did and it turned out great. He drove that thing all over the place even though it was "Clair's car". He had good hands that made him a great mechanic. He still works on projects like this at home but they are not VW anymore. He had a love for things green with John Deere on the side. I was at his house 1 1/2 years ago finaly visiting him since he left HA. He had his crawler all finshed with a couple of other tractors. He had pictures of him and his father driving them in a parade. He was a huge part of the crew here at HA. He learned a lot working on these old Beavers and Turbo Otters. He was a good friend and will never be forgotten. This is a very small industry that we all have come to love. And when tragic events like this happens it hits everyone. Keep flying safe everyone.

Shawn Braiden
AKA " Grumpy"

[Tiny Voices]

Perry looks so very familiar. He did a part of his apprenticeship at Walsten Air Service, didn't he? If there are plans in the works for a memorial at KBA HQ or any place else in the Calgary area, please post the details on AvCan.

[xsever]

From Antarctica New Zealand's Website:

Officials with the U.S. Antarctic Program and Antarctica New Zealand have jointly decided to recall search-and-rescue teams from the site of an Antarctic aircraft crash after examination of the plane indicated that it would be unsafe at this point to further disturb the wreckage that is largely embedded in snow and ice on a steep mountain slope.

Further reconnaissance was undertaken on the 27th January where field teams were able to be landed close to the crash site. Later that afternoon/early evening teams were able to recover some equipment from the exposed tail of the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, including the cockpit voice recorder, which should provide aviation authorities with more information about the cause of the crash. However, the team was unable to safely access and so recover the remains of the crew.

Full Media Statement in PDF here: http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/images/ ... _otter.pdf

[esp803]

I've spent the last couple hours going through various sites (avcanada, facebook, pprune, others) and reading what has been written about Bob. It's a shame that it took such a tragic event to bring out this much praise in a great man. When I reflect back on when I was starting in aviation, long before I knew Bob, I envisioned in essence: him. I regret not being able to tell him this.

I know that after tragic events you only ever hear the good stories, the good times, the happy moments... but the shear number that revolve around this man... wow. If you have met someone like Bob in the past I encourage you to let them know that they were a great mentors, teacher, instructor, friend, colleague or co-pilot.

I regret that I did not know the others on board so I could write about them as well, I'm sure they were all amazing people based on what I've read in this thread.

Once again I'd like to express my deepest condolences to the friends, family and co-workers of the three men.

E

[200Above]

Sad event. Prayers to family.

[Changes in Latitudes]

Judging by the responses to this thread, the positive interactions with Bob were mirrored hundreds, thousands of times over to countless aviators. He gave so much to this industry, due to kindheartedness alone and the ball is now in our court to honour Bob as well as Mike and Perry.

Imagine the impact we could have that if every person Bob mentored, guided, instructed, befriended, provided a guiding hand or PM to, or shared a piece of this planet with now stepped up with the same effort in honour of this crew. We really have a responsibility at this point to keep that ball moving.

I think within our group lies the talent, creativity, connections, finances and same kindheartedness to really do some good things in honour of our comrades. I pledge whatever I can offer to this endeavour and perhaps, when the time is right, we can start a separate thread to brainstorm things. This may be a bit premature so soon after this tragedy, so I'll give the nod to the moderators on the timing or necessity for that one.

My very best to you all.

[Gear Jerker]

Just stumbled across this. A fitting tribute, which seems to have been posted a few years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0YVpnBOIZA

I never had the privilege of meeting Bob, but his posts were always a ray of sunshine and purity amidst an often bleak, dreary avcanada thread, full of negativity and ego. His wisdom, knowledge, and generosity shone through the screen.

A big +1 esp803. We have all had mentors, people we have learned from, and people who have inspired us. This tragic event is a harsh reminder of how quickly it can be taken away. Let us all be grateful for what we have, and generous in showing our gratitude.

[costermonger]

I only met Bob once. He was every bit the kind, generous man described everywhere over the last couple days. He had come to speak at an event my company holds for students who've completed a licence or rating that year. He gave us the brief history of Bob Heath, showed us some amazing pictures and told us about the people, places and adventures he'd encountered, mainly in Antarctica. After everything was concluded, I got to chat with him for a little while, and when we got to discussing some friends that I had who'd been at Borek, he knew precisely what they were up to these days - even if they'd been a couple places since their time at KBA. It kind of struck me that he talked about them all like they were his friends, rather than former coworkers or trainees, etc. Pretty clear from this thread, and other things I've seen posted over the last few days.. That's because that's what he saw them as. No wonder everybody adored him.

RIP Bob, Mike and Perry.

[rampman]

God damn Cumulogranitus

I would have loved to have learned some of his high arctic knowledge. I fly in it and know so little

Nick

[Inuvik123]

I found my way here through a blog link. I am not pilot but a passenger who flew many times with Bob from Inuvik into communities and national parks in the western arctic as a researcher. The research community - national and international - is shocked and saddened by his passing. Bob was admired and adored by us too.

He knew the western arctic inside and out. Ask him to help identify a landing strip and he would glance at the map and then point 'here, here and here'. Not because he wasn't taking it seriously but because he knew the land that well. I will never forget his dry sense of humour, his pre-flight routine that calmed nervous passengers and got a good laugh from those more experienced. He could spot an animal from the air faster than anyone I've ever met. He would go out of his way to point out a herd of caribou, a beluga pod or something interesting on the landscape.

But it was his genuine interest and excitement for our research that touched me the most. Bob was always happy to hear what the latest project was all about and shared our excitement in what was to come. After all those years you would think he had heard it all, but no, that was not Bob. He would go out of his way on a day off to help you figure out a flight schedule or offer his insight on the possible location of various herds. The sound of the twin coming through the coastal fog at the end of a long trip and then to see Bob, anxious to hear how it had all turned out.

The research community has lost an ally and friend. I will miss you Bob - seeing you around the hanger, watching you hold court in the airport restaurant and saying hello around town. You've made your mark and left us all much too soon.

[SkiPilot]

So.... first post on AvCanada & I'm sad that it's in these circumstances.....

I knew Bob from working with him on the ice. He was a consumate professional. I've watched him land a Twin Otter in conditions when other, lesser mortals struggled & gave up.... Bob made it look effortless. And what's more, he was always ready to pass on the secrets of just how he managed to do that. And on a night out, he was one of the most entertaining, knowledgeable & funny story-tellers I've ever met. So many people have echoed the same thoughts over these 13 pages but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm ex-military, so I've lost my fair share of friends in flying accidents.... far too many. Somehow Bob's death is different, hits harder. He will be sorely missed.

Somebody in a previous post (Rowdy perhaps?) mentioned some sort of tribute or memorial to Bob & the guys, so here's a suggestion: many of the geographic features in Antarctica are named after the people who went there to explore, research, contribute & support man's effort to understand more about this vast & remote continent. Each year, more mountains, glaciers & bays are named in their honour. I can't think of a more fitting recipient than Bob, particularly if he & his crew are to remain there forever in the snow. In that respect they follow a long line of Antarctic predecessors who never came home.... So how about finding 3 peaks near the site of the crash & naming them Mount Heath, Mount Denton & Mount Andersen?

I'm not exactly sure how we would go about doing something like this but most nations have a government department which has a committee for Antarctic place names. Here are a few links to start with:

Canadian Polar Commission: http://www.polarcom.gc.ca/index.php?pag ... t&hl=en_US

Geographical Names Board of Canada: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/a ... anada/5743

New Zealand Geographic Board: http://www.linz.govt.nz/placenames/abou ... phic-board

US Govt Policy Covering Antarctic Names: http://geonames.usgs.gov/antex.html

What do we think?

Fly safe.

[Changes in Latitudes]

So how about finding 3 peaks near the site of the crash & naming them Mount Heath, Mount Denton & Mount Andersen?

What do we think?

Fly safe.

I think when the time is right and each crew member's family was agreeable, it would be a fantastic idea. Great thinking.

Now we'll just need to come up with something fitting for them in the northern hemisphere as well.