Photo by Vince Fedorof
DRAMA ON THE TARMAC – Emergency responders from all services converged on Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport this morning after a report of a hydraulic problem on Air North's Hawker Siddeley. The plane landed without incident (below).
An Air North plane bound for Inuvik, N.W.T. was forced to return to Whitehorse after pilots reported losing hydraulic power following takeoff from Dawson City this morning.
An Air North plane bound for Inuvik, N.W.T. was forced to return to Whitehorse after pilots reported losing hydraulic power following takeoff from Dawson City this morning.
While emergency crews from Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, Whitehorse RCMP, Emergency Medical Services and the Whitehorse Fire Department mobilized on the tarmac for an emergency landing, the twin-turbo prop Hawker Siddeley touched down at 11:35 a.m. without incident.
Airport staff received the emergency call from pilots shortly after 11 a.m.
"The plane had a hydraulic problem and lost fluid,” Air North president Joe Sparling told the Star moments after the plane landed.
"It's not a huge event ... not something to be unduly concerned as these (pilots) are trained to deal with such situations.”
Hydraulic power on the Hawker Siddeley – designed by Avro in the late 1950s to replace aging DC-3s – controls landing gear, brakes and steering when the plane is on the ground, but Sparling said landing gear can be activated manually and the plane is equipped with emergency brake pressure.
"I'm not sure (how they lowered the landing gear) until I talk to the crew ... maybe they dropped it before the last of the fluid ran out,” said Sparling, adding he does not yet know what caused the hydraulic failure.
The four Hawker Siddeleys in Air North's fleet were built in the 1970s and are rugged planes designed to handle the North's extreme weather and flying conditions.
Sparling noted that in the last 10 years, "this (type of incident) has probably happened maybe once.”
Airport manager John Rogers described the large number of emergency vehicles and personnel assembled for the emergency landing as standard procedure in these types of events.
"We always have to prepare for the unknown and prepare for the worst,” Rogers told the Star. "But it was a successful landing, and everything's fine.”
Two crew and three passengers were on board the plane, which was transporting cargo.
A second Hawker Siddeley has been dispatched to complete the scheduled flight.
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