Tag: Iqaluit FSS

Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the Trans Ocean Airways DC-8

Post author By Stanley
Post date 1 January 2016

In 1989, News North journalist Cam Lockerbie wrote an article about the misadventure of passengers who were forced to stay longer than expected in Iqaluit because of a stopover that went wrong.

A Trans Ocean Airways DC-8 on a flight from San Francisco to Great Britain had stopped in Iqaluit, on Canada’s Baffin Island in the Nunavut, to refuel but experienced some problems during the refueling process. The aircraft would not be able to depart before the next day and 220 passengers had to find a place to sleep in Iqaluit.

Impressive efforts were deployed to help those stranded passengers since there was far from enough hotel rooms to accommodate everyone. Eventually, the passengers were dispersed throughout the town and, although there were not enough beds for everyone, there was at least a roof provided for the night.

The wing of a Trans Ocean Airlines DC-8 touches a hangar in Iqaluit

The spare parts needed for the broken DC-8 were delivered by charter jet directly from United States. After the repair was done, the DC-8 attempted to move but faced another problem. It had to find enough space to manoeuver between a hangar and an American Trans Air Lockheed L-1011 that was refueling. An airline company employee was requested to guide the DC-8 and ensure that it would not come into contact with the L-1011 or the hangar.

The newspaper article mentioned that the aircraft was not able to move past the hangar and that part of the wing had to be dismantled. What the journalist did not write, certainly because he ignored it, is that there was a contact between the hangar door and the wing tip, in spite of the person walking in front of the DC-8, like you can see on the picture above taken by an Iqaluit flight service station FSS.

On the return flight, the same DC-8 experienced an alternator problem but the engineer’s resourcefullness prevented the passengers to spend another night in Iqaluit. In the following year, the company declared bankruptcy.

American Trans Air Lockheed L-1011 in front of the Iqaluit flight service station in 1989

Canadian Airlines B-737 and Firstair HS-748 in Iqaluit in 1989

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the sleeping pilots

Post author By Stanley
Post date 26 December 2015

In the early 1990s, I was working at the Transport Canada flight service station (FSS) in Iqaluit, providing air traffic services. While I was in charge of the HF radio communications allowing the tracking of transoceanic flights, I received a call from a controller asking me to try to contact an airliner of a big European company.

Their pilots had crossed 60 degree west without communicating with Iceland radio and it was now necessary to ensure that the projected passage time for 70 degree West and the altitude of the aircraft were still valid.

I tried to communicate with the crew using all means at my disposal, among which the SELCAL system which sent an alarm signal on board the aircraft. Nothing worked. Other airliners flying nearby the aircraft were requested to help by trying some calls on VHF emergency frequencies. But again, there were no replies.

Suddenly, about one hour after the moment that the pilots should have given some sign of life, I received an answer to my repeated calls. I told the crew that all the efforts had been made to contact them but without success. I asked them an official position report and an estimate for the next mandatory point of contact. Calmly, the pilot answered that he did not know why I had not received his calls and he immediately prepared an official position report.

It was kind of strange that on a day where the HF reception was excellent, and when all other companies were communicating with Iqaluit radio without any problem, this company stayed silent for such a long period of time.

I finally received the new position report but it clearly looked like an invention. If the data provided by the crew was correct, this aircraft would successfully fly 400 nautical miles in the next ten minutes. It would mean that at this speed, the crew expected to cross most of Canada in about one hour.

I advised the pilot to redo his calculations since, visibly, he seemed to have no idea of his position. He came back with new numbers, very different this time, which match what was expected.

I guessed that during the long transatlantic flight, both pilots slowly fell asleep while the automatic pilot kept the aircraft in flight. Suddenly woken up by the multiple calls, the crew did not take into account the movement of the aircraft during the hour where everybody was asleep and, worried not to get caught, rapidly transmitted totally erroneous calculations.

Nonetheless, the story ended well since the crew, now rested, provided exact information for the following position reports, allowing for a safe flight until destination.

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the overloaded DC-8

Post author By Stanley
Post date 12 December 2015

Trans Ocean DC-8-63F N794AL in Iqaluit in 1989

On a summer day of 1989, a DC-8-63F took-off from Iqaluit airport’s runway 36, on Baffin Island, heading towards Los Angeles. In order to do the flight without any stopovers, the tanks had been topped. The combined fuel, passengers and cargo weight required an extremely long ground run before the wheels could leave the runway.

Viewed from the Transport Canada flight service station tower, it seemed to us that the pilot had waited until the last moment to pull on the stick. Once airborne, the aircraft flew horizontally and stayed very low over the flat terrain to profit from the ground effect.

However, few kilometers from the threshold of runway 18, the terrain started to rise enough to request a positive climb rate. The pilot slightly pulled on the stick but avoided any turn to maximize lift.

Using binoculars, the flight service specialists (FSS) watched the aircraft as it should have made a left turn a long time ago. When the turn was finally attempted, the aircraft started to sink and lose much of the altitude precedently gained. We could follow the changes of altitude through the long trails of dark smoke left behind the aircraft.

Realizing the airplane was not ready to turn yet as it was going down, the pilot had started to fly it horizontally again. Moments later, the pilot tried again and the aircraft made a five to ten degree bank before starting to climb very gently. The aircraft would not have handled anything more.

It was the first time that we were considering pressing the red button used to alert airport emergency services. But this would not have been very useful since very little help could have been provided quickly enough, taking into account the position of the aircraft, its enormous amount of fuel on board and the total absence of roads in that isolated Arctic region.

N795AL DC-8-63 Trans Ocean airborne runway 18 in Iqaluit in 1990

Nationair C-GMXD DC-8-61 in Iqaluit in 1989

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the Christmas of a Saab-Scania pilot

Post author By Stanley
Post date 1 November 2015

(Precedent story: Iqaluit FSS and the Persian Gulf War)

Book and message sent by a Saab-Scania pilot to the Iqaluit flight service specialists

I still have fond memories of a pilot who came up to visit the flight service specialists (FSS) at the Transport Canada flight service station in Iqaluit, in1990, during an icy Christmas evening. This Saab-Scania pilot had arrived from United States and he intended to cross the Atlantic toward Europe.

But the extreme cold prevailing in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, had complicated the ground operations. The pilot’s tight schedule as well as the reduced services in effect for the Christmas holidays had given him all sorts of problems. Through his entire ordeal, he kept a professional attitude and we did everything possible to get him out of trouble.

Just before he left the flight service station, he asked us our name and mailing address in Iqaluit. Finally, once all his problems had been taken care of, he took-off from Canada towards his next stopover. Weeks went by and one day, my colleague and I each received a package from Sweden. It was a book about the Saab-Scania story and, inside, there was this little note: “With thanks for the help at Christmas”!

(Next story: A freelance demolition worker in Iqaluit)

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the Persian Gulf War

Post author By Stanley
Post date 23 September 2015

Markair L-382 on a stopover in Iqaluit in 1990

In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This invasion was unanimously condemned, even by countries that are traditionally aligned with Iraq. The United Nations reacted by giving Iraq up to January 15th 1991 to withdraw. But Saddam Hussein’s attitude clearly showed that there would be no withdrawal and that he intended to proceed with Kuwait annexation to the Iraqi territory.

Understanding that military force would obviously be necessary, United States (representing a coalition of 34 countries) started preparing for the conflict. Aircraft movements increased and short range military aircrafts that would have to cross the Atlantic used Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, as a stopover before continuing through Greenland, Iceland, Europe and finally the Middle East.

OV-10 Broncos transiting through Iqaluit in 1990 and heading for the Persian Gulf

Starting summer 1990, the Iqaluit airport then became one of the mandatory stopovers towards Middle East for some military aircrafts. Soon we could see L-382s carrying large size items and some OV-10 Broncos painted with desert colors landing in Iqaluit. Later on during autumn, other specially equipped aircrafts like the U.S.Army RU-21 Guardrail Common Sensor also made stopovers in Iqaluit.

RU-21 Guardrail Common Sensor on a stopover in Iqaluit in 1990 and heading for the Persian Gulf

A Southern Air Transport L-382 also landed in Iqaluit. That company was sometimes used by the CIA for its operations.

Southern Air Transport L-382 N908SJ transiting through Iqaluit in 1990

As soon as a flight service specialist (FSS) was not busy with radio communications, he would head toward the briefing counter to receive the military pilots who had come to obtain the mandatory weather and flight planning information that would be used to safely cross the Atlantic.

HF frequencies used for international communications at the local Transport Canada flight service station were really busy. On top of the regular air traffic services normally associated with commercial aircrafts crossing the Atlantic, we were now dealing with the radio communications associated with numerous military cargo aircrafts like the C-5s Galaxy and others.

In the two weeks preceding the United Nations ultimatum, between January 1st and 15th 1991, the Iqaluit flight service station recorded a 266 % increase against the same period in 1990 in oceanic traffic transiting through its airport. Flights were mostly related with private or chartered business jets linked to international banks, petroleum companies and military organizations preparing for the events to come. We received, among others, aircraft types like the G1, G2, G3, G4, HS25, DA50, DA90, CL60, C550, LR25 and B-727.

Occidental Petroleum B-727 N10XY on a stopover in Iqaluit in 1990

One night of January 1991, while we were at work, one member of the staff took-off his headphones and calmly told me: “Son, the war has started”.

I will remember that special period since we did not receive a military training but, nonetheless, we witnessed and dealt with the preparation and aircraft movements associated with a major military conflict.

Moreover, for a short period, the Iqaluit airport reverted to the use it had initially been planned and built for in 1942, during the Second World War, which was a base created for short-range military aircrafts heading to Europe.

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit