International pilots union to discuss dangers of Arctic aviation

A First Air ATR at the Iqaluit airport. The Air Line Pilots Association International will hold a conference in Ottawa May 29, with representatives from government and the airline industry, to discuss the challenges of aviation in the Arctic, including safety issues. (FILE PHOTO)

A union that represents more than 50,000 pilots working for 33 airlines in Canada and the United States will hold a big conference in Ottawa May 29 to discuss the challenges of operating in the Arctic and other remote locations.

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association International and representatives from government will focus on safety and other related issues in light of the crash of a First Air jet near Resolute Bay in August 2011 that killed 12 people, including all four crew members.

“The crash of First Air Flight 6560 at Resolute Bay Airport in Canada — 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle — in 2011 was a tragic reminder of the challenges of flying in these harsh environments,” ALPA said in a news release.

After that accident, Capt. Lee Moak, the president of the union, set up a committee on remote operations.

Capt. Peter Black, a First Air pilot, chairs that committee, which was directed to look at safety issues and operational improvements related to aviation in the far north of Canada and the United States.

The remote operations committee’s work will be used to spark discussion at the meeting, ALPA said in its news release.

Issues up for discussion include:

• airport infrastructure;

• regulatory and legislative support for safe operations;

• operational considerations.

Meeeting participants will include representatives from Transport Canada, the Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the Government of Nunavut, the Government of the Northwest Territories, Nav Canada, the Northern Air Transport Association and other agencies and organizations.

They’ll hold the meeting inside the Ottawa Marriot Hotel at 100 Kent St., on May 29 starting at 8:30 a.m.

During the meeting, a live online video feed will be available here: http://remoteopsconference.alpa.org/