Air Mikisew shut down?

[reality check]

Is Contrail just standards that pilots need to meet?

Contrail is what makes a particular person a lot of money, nothing more, nothing less. It has as much to do with "safety" as politicians have to do with integrity. It works so well we're spawning a pile of copycats!

[gianthammer]

Sorry Ogee,.... I thought my Rolly Eyes made it more then obvious that my whole statement was sarcastic!!!

[Ogee]

Sorry Ogee,.... I thought my Rolly Eyes made it more then obvious that my whole statement was sarcastic!!!

No, the apologies are mine. Didn't see the Rolly Eyes. But the wit is obvious now. Carry on.

[jetstream3112]

I worked for Contact Air which later became Air Mikisew for many years.

It was a company full of potential and drive. Many TC audits came and went during my stay with the company and despite the many missinformed posts on this website full of hearsay and missguided resentment there was never any safety issue with the company while i was employed. Yes Tc comes in and rattles your chain every now and again but contact a TC official do some legitimate research on the transport record of this company and you will find that the audit findings in both maintenance and operations were being brought down to an impecable level.

Working now in consulting roles and the like it is quite clear to me reading many of the posts on this site that it has become a sounding board for many pilots and AME's that dont seam to be really involved with the dollars and sence and day to day operations of an airline company. If you were you would not have time to visit such ludacris websites slandering your fellow aviation enthusiasts. This i know because i have been involved.I am no longer. When involved in management and as a front line employee you just dont have time. It is 24/7 and then some for next to no money and no compensation. Pilots and AMES. Dam this does feel good to rant a little.

Let me continue. This particular Air Line has fallen prey to VERY POOR upper management disissions that have through the last few years been allowed to run rampant due to the lack of oversight by the native bad and council that OWNS the company. Further more the lower level complaints never reach this council because it must be filtered through the present GM/OPS/ACCOUNTABLE EXECUTIVE Manager presently employed by the company. ( Who after firing of laying off everone else is still employed). There was never a method for the front line employees to convey problems they had with management or operations of any sort to the owners of the company. If there had been a method, than earlier investigations by the owner would have taken place and some of the present management staff would not be involved, there by eliminating this whole issue to begin with.

Again i must reiterate the fact that over twenty years in the business and many with the company in question they had very little that was not in compliance up to the date of my departure and would bet mine and family members lives on it. I have been through many Transport tribunals and Audits and have a very opinionated view on the process that i have no time to devulge on this site but i do know two Transport inspectors that can and should be brought up on criminal charges and one just happens to be Air Mikisews present PMI. I cant talk to any transport official these days without being offered a job so it just goes to show how desperate they are to find disgruntled aviation members to join there clan.

That was a little outside the box but my point being that this company has an impecible record standing next to a company that has lost 3 aircraft in as many years in crashes 2 of which are within months of each other and they are still providing passenger service. There is something wrong here and it isnt Air Mikisew. They HAD great people and great aircraft but were VERY POORLY MISGUIDED! Speeking of this why is the very proud and dictorial ACCOUNTABLE EXECUTIVE of an airline still employed by the company he flew into the ground. Ask a "Mom & Pop" organization that and they would have gotten rid of him long ago. Anyway that is my rant and i thank this website now for allowing me to vent on a very touchy subject.

EDITED for readability

[sepia]

Here's something to think about. McMurray Aviation has crashed 3 planes this year so far, and transport isn't knocking down their door.

[Gstar]

My hat is off to the young man that put the 206 plane down safely with everyone ok. Great Job!

[johnnycoutereille]

They should pave a road to fort chip and be done with it.

[6ftsnipe]

What happened with the 206?

[4hrstovegas]

http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/c ... pe=0&narr=

Narrative: C-GQPS, a Cessna 206 operated by McMurray Aviation carrying the pilot and four passengers, was en route VFR from Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan (YPY) when the aircraft experienced engine problems and the pilot attempted a forced landing 53 miles south of YPY. The aircraft was reported to be substantially damaged in the landing, but there were no injuries. TSB report to follow.

Yet another one for McMurray Aviation... is this the third or fourth accident of the summer for these guys? How Mikisew is being grilled and these guys have remained unscathed is a mystery. Kudos to the pilot, though, for bringing everyone down safely.

[+TSRAGR]

Mikisew have had their fair share of accidents/incidents over the past years as well.

Wing spar failed on 99 in Ft. Chip.

Islander slung out of Jean Lake after nose gear ripped off.

99 tipped on tail in McMurray.

Islander unable to taxi after landing due fuel starvation (never made public).

185 inverted in lake @ fish camp.

Beaver unintentionally beached after bad landing @ Snye.

99 landed gear up (intentional) after failure (excellent job Rudy + Ryan).

You can find these sorts of occurrances at any busy company.

Another thing to consider is the volume of flying that McMurray Aviation does and the places that they fly to. I am fairly confident that the cause of the 206 engine failure will not be attributed to poor maintainance.

[Gstar]

You can find these sorts of occurrances at any busy company.

Absolutely Not, and completely unacceptable.

[+TSRAGR]

I did not say that they are acceptable.

While good companies strive to eliminate them they do happen to every company.

For instance Air Canada has 68 pages of CADORS since January 1 2010.

Some are routine and some are ridiculous.

[nutbutter]

Air Mikisew is a giant kitten slaughterhouse

[Tiger Moth]

Mikisew have had their fair share of accidents/incidents over the past years as well.

Wing spar failed on 99 in Ft. Chip.

Islander slung out of Jean Lake after nose gear ripped off.

99 tipped on tail in McMurray.

Islander unable to taxi after landing due fuel starvation (never made public).

185 inverted in lake @ fish camp.

Beaver unintentionally beached after bad landing @ Snye.

99 landed gear up (intentional) after failure (excellent job Rudy + Ryan).

You can find these sorts of occurrances at any busy company.

Another thing to consider is the volume of flying that McMurray Aviation does and the places that they fly to. I am fairly confident that the cause of the 206 engine failure will not be attributed to poor maintainance.

The 185 was just off the end of the Chip runway, in that little lake there that they use as a base.

Don't forget the time when the current GM/Ops man dropped the caravan on it's tail... he was not a manager at the time though...

It was just bad luck that McMurray Aviation had those two accidents at Island Lodge there so quick after each other...

I wonder if they are going to fix the latest 206?

[The Old Fogducker]

It was just bad luck that McMurray Aviation had those two accidents at Island Lodge there so quick after each other...

I wonder if they are going to fix the latest 206?

Oh, just a bad luck accident ... well, ya know what? I don't recall ever seeing that published in any previous accident investigation report.

Maybe the pilot walked under a ladder, or worse still ... a black cat crossed his path.

There is absolutely always a cause for an aircraft to end up short of its destination, and bad luck is never one of them.

The Old Fogducker

[Main Gear]

It was just bad luck

I wonder do aircraft manufacturers factor in a "luck" component when determining the safe and correct operating procedures and limits? If an aircraft ends up short of a runway, the "aircraft" was flying the pilot, not the pilot flying the aircraft.

[George Taylor]

The only "lucky" thing is, no one got hurt.

[lulubelle]

Does no one else here think the timing is interesting?

During this Shutdown the Edmonton Muni has
been downsized to being a ONE RUNWAY operation.
First the ten person limitation, now one runway.

Sounds to me like the City of Edmonton
can now point out that the entire Fort McMurray/Fort Chip
communities did just fine with alternative transport.

I'm sure nothing could possibly be traced to anyone,
but there are Contract Bids out there right now for
Development in that particular area of the City.

just sayin'.

[nutbutter]

Does no one else here think the timing is interesting?

During this Shutdown the Edmonton Muni has
been downsized to being a ONE RUNWAY operation.
First the ten person limitation, now one runway.

Sounds to me like the City of Edmonton
can now point out that the entire Fort McMurray/Fort Chip
communities did just fine with alternative transport.

I'm sure nothing could possibly be traced to anyone,
but there are Contract Bids out there right now for
Development in that particular area of the City.

just sayin'.

I don't buy the government conspiracy theory.

[AEROBAT]

I used to like Contact [now Air Mikisew] but given a choice I would fly with McMurray Aviation, as a pilot or passenger, any day before flying Mikisew. Like Jetsream says there are big upper management problems. Browns air charter was another interesting company at the strip

[lost in the north]

Brown's,now there is a name I have not heard in a long time.

[johnnycoutereille]

Heard last weeks audit was failed. Whats going to happen now? Are they trying again or just going to keep on dumping money into a pit?

[The Old Fogducker]

Failed on Ops side or M&M?

[Tiger Moth]

M&M again/still

[yodan]

Umm the word is libel

I would agree except that what do you call it when someone is speaking the truth? You don't get it do you?

The only one left in management still can't satisfy TC; gues where the problem lies? This was established in the first pages of this thread.

Among the so-called consultants they hired are 2 former TC inspectors who could not even keep their job with TC let alone in the Industry. What does that tell you?

This audit had failed the day the appointment was booked by TC to do the audit!!! Call it whatever you want, its not about any other operator at this moment, its about Air Mikisew. I am not disagreeing with the comments made about other operators in CYMM or anywhere else; TC does not "compare" an operator's situation with anyone else. It deals with the current facts as they see it at the moment...right or wrong.

Solution: MGC fires whoever is left "holding the bag" with Air Mikisew and starts fresh. Problem is the clock is ticking and in fact it may have ran out as we speak. (90 days from the NOS)

Alternative: None. And air Mikisew is history.