Plane missing in Antarctica

[DougRonan]

That's an awesome idea - I would like to someday fly over one those duely named peaks - I decided today that I would put a trip to Antarctica on my do list - Perry and I spoke of what it took to go down there as a tourist - with recent events I would like to do that someday!

I would like to get involved in this process of getting Bob, Mike and Perry's name put on three chunks of rock or ice down there - so let me know who's in charge of this project or I can take it on!

Not good flying weather here today - freezing rain - everything covered with 1/2" of ice!

[bizjets101]

Memorial at Geographic South Pole, US National Science replaced US Flag with Canadian Flag

(source)
Photo; National Science Foundation-Blaise Kuo Tiong


Photo; National Science Foundation-Blaise Kuo Tiong posted in Calgary Herald

Calgary Herald story

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

[howard40]

That naming idea, is a great idea.
Folks like these three, would never want anyone getting any more than a bruise on a recovery attempt.

[Old fella]

Anybody know if Bob Heath ever did a stint with FPL(Forest Protection Ltd) out of CYFC, time frame would be 1976-77-78. I understand he did some time in NB in 70's as I did and our paths may have crossed. His face looks awful familiar......

[co-joe]

JC defining how you log "northern time"

It is North if your logbook page has 3 or more place names ending in Ik, Ak, Ik, At, Harbour, Lake, or Fort. If the signs at the terminal are in one 'Official' language, plus Syllabics, it's North. If you can't remember what something costs in a store, but you know what it weighs, it's North. If your passengers understand: Sked, split charter, and Medevac, it's North. If you know you have the Premier on board, and nobody is whispering "hey, look who's on the plane"... Yeah you guessed it!
Public holidays in places up North will include Freeze-up, and Break-up.
If you get in a fight with your Boss because they want you to hold call tonight, and you have a ticket for the Fireman's Ball... It's up North.
If you are aware of the existence of KFC Express (And you know it isn't a regional airline) or Klik Lite, then yeah, you're up North.
Oh, and if you have to hold 1/2 an hour for the Prime Minister to finish riding a quad up and down the only gravel runway, and you explain that to your passengers, and the only question they have is: "What kind of quad?", then rest assured you are up north.
JC

Resume writing advice:

I say a silent prayer of thanks for everyone that writes a bad resume. Our current winner had a 17 page cloud paper resume and with the best efforts of five of us, we couldn't tell how many hours the kid had.
Three most improved student awards from 3 different colleges, but no mention of a diploma. Every leadership role from cubs, scouts and hockey teams, and a sepia toned pic wearing an avcollege jacket (that didn't appear on a resume) in front of a Lear 25. As best we could tell, he had a commercial, a single IFR, and a multi rating!

Some of his material is easily as funny as Henri's, others rival the Duke and his brand of story telling.

[North Shore]

To add to the Just Curious collation:

:
All of the above are correct. Here's some more:

When you drive up, have a zillion copies of your resume. Don't put your picture on it. Have your (maybe not so)grand total out front so they can read it. Don't emphasize your university debating club as one of your hobbies. Bush Pilots don't debate. We always know we're right, even when we aren't.

Don't show up in a suit. Wear clean Mark's Work Warehouse type clothes with work or hiking boots, and work gloves. Not NEW ONES!
The driver you want to speak with will probably be on the Ramp or Dock hucking freight. Toss freight while you're talking. Nobody needs a special guest star while they are loading. Don't ask if you can come along. If he or she wants you to, they will ask. We are not shy up here. Come to think of it, once the driver takes off with his Norseman load of crap, talk at length to the Ramp Rats. Heck, buy 'em a coffee! They could easily be would-be pilots. And NOBODY knows the operation better than the rats. If you haven't a clue ask them how to load a snowmachine, boats, drums, sattelite dish and anything else wierd you see lying around the dock. Remember, if where you are standing is the end of the road, then anything and everything you need for a small town has to be flown in. Hopefully by you! Make notes on how this crap is loaded, take pictures. Sure as heck they don't cover this in the edmonton flying club ground-school!

If you can, borrow a map for the perspective area. Know how to read all the details of a map like the saturday comics. GPS will probably be turned off for your check-ride. Know where the usual destinations are. You studied up before each ride right? In the hope of getting a job? It's no diferent- each little talk is a check-ride. Keep a file of who you talked to, and about whtat and when is a good time to talk to them again. Then make sure you call back

Speaking of destinations...Is there a bar or coffee shop that area drivers favor? Be in at O 'dark thirty and pay attention. In Redl Lake fer instance the Lakeview Restaurant at o dark thirty is going to have a bunch of airplane people in it.

Buy a boy scout manual at a yard sale. Master all the knots in it. Learn how to splice.

Get a thermos and a sleeping bag. Learn how to sit and wait for te chief pilot to come sauntering out of the office door. Talk to a stalker for more advise on this.

At each stop, there will probably be a library in town. Get a hotmail yahoo or similar account. Check it at each stop. That job offer might just be there for a limited time only.

When asked about career expections, you might consider letting the interviewer know that eventually you want to drive something bigger. Just leave the impression that that 'something biger' is a twin otter or a hawker, not the Airbus 330 or something.

Find out the rudiments of smalll engine repair, and how to trouble-shoot a propane fridge. Joe McBryan in the 'Knife always asks people if they have a trade. He doesn't mean do you have an ATPL. He wants to know what other skills you possess that can help him keep his small airline alive. Maybe to you its a stepping stone. To him and guys like him the business is his RRSP.

Presumably, there are going to be customers of the airline.If it's in the bush, a fair bet is that they will be native. Learn how to say hi, bye and thanks in their language. Customer service is important. In Cree, its Tansi or boujou, and Meegwutch for thanks. WAY up north thanks can be Masi or Masi 'Cho.
Up at the top its Quayanakpak, Daigoo, Quayanaini, Quana, Quayanomin Nakomin, (going left to right from Siberia to Greenland.)
If you are going on your trip up to april or after labour day, bring a parka. not a shiny clean ski jacket. You might want to consider buying a reynolds flight suit, so if you do get hired you fit right in. Pile enough crap in the car that if you do get a job, you can start right now. Every employer wants two weeks notice before you bail, but they also want you that afternoon if they hire you.

Remember that life is a journey, not a destination, (especially if your destination when hired is Pikangikum, Stoney Rapids Shammatawa, Rae Edzo, or Lake Harbour) so if they offer you a ramp job, grab it, and work it as if the one thing in life you wanted to do was get to work a pallet jack. That way paradoxically, you won't spend as much time on the pallet jack.

Have fun. We did.

Unfortunately, the entirety of this post has been lost in my AvCanada inbox..

Anyone have any stories about the other two guys?

[captcrunch2013]

Just noticed a post on OttawaPilots.ca and Prune regarding Bob Heath.


http://www.ottawapilots.ca/forum/index.php?board=2.0

http://www.pprune.org/canada/506059-bor ... ost7662361

[CLguy]

Just read 14 pages of sadness and still can't believe it. Never met Bob personally, although I sure wish I had the opportunity but did talk with him online on more than one occasion. This unfortunately is the dark side of this damn industry.

My sincere condolences to all the families!

[Boo Radley]

I didn't know Mike or Perry but I had the pleasure of meeting Bob back when I worked for a competitor up in the NWT. From the moment we first started operating in CYEV, Bob being the gentleman that he was, would answer any questions we had about the area and offer tips and advice to help us get to and from our destinations safely. It didn't matter that we worked for a direct competitor, he was only interested in helping us stay safe. Later I too got hired by KBA and got a chance to meet Bob again and share some of his knowledge. Like everyone has said here, Bob was a real class act and I count myself lucky to have met him.

My sincerest condolences to the families of all the crew.

[avcanada]

I was just forwarded a memorial link off of Kenn Borek's homepage that I would like to share with the membership http://www.borekair.com/memorial/ .

My condolences to all the families and friends of Mike Denton, Bob Heath, & Perry Andersen.

[DaveP]

Sad stuff for sure and my condolences. It kinda puts a lump in my throat when I read these obituarys and memories posted by friends. It hits close to home with our shared passion for aviation.

Thanks for posting the memorial links.

I'm looking into some travel assistance should any of the immediate family members require a flight. I'm sure we (westjet) will be more than happy to assist.

If someone has anymore information or special requests, please email me dpobran@westjet.com

[Adam Oke]

My condolences to friends, family, and the AvCanadian's out there. I know I raised my glass(es) this past weekend. Though I never met you, you were a great mentor on this site and provided me with more than enough resources over the years of my career through personal e-mail and posts. Pretty stand up guy to give gestures like that to someone you don't know. Cheers to you Bob "Just Curious" and your crew.

[P-40]

I was at the Calgary Flying Club today where Mike previously worked and did his training.

A celebration of Mike's life will take place on February 1st at Christ Church in Calgary.

Service starts at 2:00PM and the address is 3602 - 8th Street S.W.

[howard40]

I went to the Ken Borek link to obits and am still crying. Three capable, adventurous, good men.

[pelmet]

Memories of the south pole

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3xvhXn1wz8

[bigsky]

Hundreds packed church memorial for Arctic pilot Bob Heath

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/sto ... heath.html

[Mr. North]

Bob's memorial service was touching to say the least. It was a true Northern send-off in every way. The church, resembling an igloo both inside and out, was filled with people of all walks of life. Local Inuvialuit, Parks Canada, and KBA employees were all in strong attendance yet I'm sure hundreds more would have attended if it weren't for the vast distances that separate members of this profession. Widely respected within aviation, Bob was equally if not more so admired by the locals he served. It was inspiring to witness the profound impact he had in the Northern communities, something which I had never taken into account until now. He is often referred to as an Elder of Aviation - a title not so easily earned up here but one that is well deserved.

[Johnny#5]

What about the idea of renaming Shell Lake by CYEV, 'Heath Lake'?

[ruddersup?]

Has this been posted earlier?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcIsxdGA98U

[Edo]

The back page of Macleans is a column titled "The End" they have chosen to celebrate Bob Heath's life this week. A nice tribute.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/02/13/robert-murray-heath/

[FL001]

Been a year today. Not too many days have gone by where I haven't thought of you guys. A year didn't dull the pain at all. Godspeed Gents...

[DougRonan]

I was in Calgary last week picking up an airplane - was talking to a couple the guys at Borek because Perry Anderson was a good friend of ours - he started his career as a co-op student with us - he was an awesome human being - I knew him when he was a teenager and he was a great kid who grew into a great man!! He is and will always be deeply missed by all that knew him!!

Doug Ronan

[JL]

TSB report release http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-repor ... 3F0011.asp

[pelmet]

Unfortunately in an accident like this with limited onsite investigation and unserviceable CVR, it is extremely difficult to really know what happened.

One statement at the end about what KBA has changed since the accident does stand out however and was not even discussed in the body of the report. Regardless of whether it had anything to do with this accident in which an early turn was made toward high terrain, it is a very good idea for any operator to focus on.

It says..."Kenn Borek Air Ltd. has taken the following corrective actions :· amended its GPS standard operating procedures to prevent incorrect data input;".

Manual GPS entries needs to be triple checked in situations like this and triple checked that you have read them properly from the chart. It wouldn't hurt for each crew member to independently come up with their own coordinates and then compare in critical situations that seem to occur frequently in remote operations areas. It is one of those things that you need to be paranoid about.

[bigsky]

Unfortunately in an accident like this with limited onsite investigation and unserviceable CVR, it is extremely difficult to really know what happened.

One statement at the end about what KBA has changed since the accident does stand out however and was not even discussed in the body of the report. Regardless of whether it had anything to do with this accident in which an early turn was made toward high terrain, it is a very good idea for any operator to focus on.

It says..."Kenn Borek Air Ltd. has taken the following corrective actions :· amended its GPS standard operating procedures to prevent incorrect data input;".

Manual GPS entries needs to be triple checked in situations like this and triple checked that you have read them properly from the chart. It wouldn't hurt for each crew member to independently come up with their own coordinates and then compare in critical situations that seem to occur frequently in remote operations areas. It is one of those things that you need to be paranoid about.

Another point from the accident report.
History of the flight

The purpose of the flight was to reposition the aircraft and crew to support an Italian research team located at Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules Footnote 1
Footnote 1 states.
"Kenn Borek Air Ltd. flight operations in the Antarctic are conducted under Canadian Aviation Regulation visual flight rules."


I find it hard to believe that they were VFR on this flight and flew into the side of that mountain.