This is an extensively-researched, meticulously accurate and beautifully written account of what's been going on within Canadian aviation over the past decade or so. Thank you Carol Shaben!
It is also a timely antidote to the facile and deceptive denials that emerge regularly from Transport Canada and its minister of the day. Aviation safety in Canada is in trouble: there's no question about it. Transport Canada is directly responsible: they have nowhere to hide. The public is beginning to realize what has been going on: expect more mainstream media coverage of this latest failure of government.
Let's hope that public pressure will force the politicians and bureaucrats to take swift corrective measures — before there is a major disaster.
David Hutton
I would not cite AvCanada as a very reputable source for important aviation topics. A quick review of the website and you will find it’s a gossip site, filled with childish comments, arguments and demonstrations of one-upmanship. After spending an hour or two reviewing the content & quality of posts published on this so called professional pilots forum I find the comment “discovered that many aviation professionals shared her concerns” highly questionable. The AvCanada website and the over-all tone of the forum is questionable given it is controlled by the website moderators, most notably “The Widow” as is the Safeskies website. There is no balance, only constructed and controlled messages.
6000 words, and you pick out one sentence that refers to AvCanada? Has "the widow" been a moderator and "controlled" the site since she began visiting?
I looked up that paper Justice Moshansky wrote for the Royal Aeronautical Society mentioned in the article. That's a "wow", and not in a good way.
I found this article to be really informative. The author seems to have touched on all the "key" points.
This really caught my attention: "Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board have developed a culture of secrecy, where whistle-blowers are persecuted" and caused me to look up Canadian whistleblower protections, as I thought that was something which had been umbrella'ed under the Accountability Act - wasn't it Baird himself who introduced this? It seems that our "world-class" Act isn't worth the paper it is written on.
Well done, Ms. Shaben. I will be writing to my MP.
Absolutely true! Where I am we try to be as safe as we can, but there is no oversight and the Regulator has no idea whether we are actually in compliance or not! More shady operators are going to slip through with 'self-regulation' by SMS and it seem it will only change once the body count gets to a certain level...
Well done article Carol, thank you so much for this. Because of this story more and more people will be aware of our unsafe skies, and the pain it has brought to so many people.
As a member of the Buckle family and aunt of the co-piolet killed in Davis Inlet I thankyou for your work. I am sorry for your personal hardship,God Bless you for your courage. I am grateful that your work has stopped the pilot in this case from flying another plane and he is no longer able to hurt another family as his actions that day have affected ours. Freda and the family will never fully recover from this accident,it took away a very loving husband, son,grandson,nephew and cousin who was loved very much and missed throughly by all his extended family. I was thrilled to see the report expose so much cover up and hope the powers in charge see the errors of their ways, it is our lives they are gambling with, and we are not willing to put up the antie.
An excellent article - superior to anything I've encountered in the mainstream media. As a former air accident investigator and a TC-approved check pilot I share many of the concerns about SMS and the department distancing itself from everyday issues. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never heard of Walrus but I've bookmarked the site and might even spring for a subscription.
I wasn't looking forward to reading an aviation article, but Ms Shaben could make paperclips interesting. More importantly this beautifully written feature conveys an important message to our federal government: safety is paramount. If the gov't thinks they're saving money by offloading or downsizing, a law suit or two will take care of that. This is not a responsibility our government can shirk.
My cousin died with three others in a small airplane crash in Saskatchewan. Nothing in the news as I recall. This stuff happens and little is communicated so there is little public support. We Canadians ought not to be so soft spoken.
I flew out of here in 1970 when I was a young man on a float plane operated by Alert Bay Air Services. The pilot and the aircraft were the safest then. My trip was just a jaunt on a Saturday with friends but I always felt safe during several take-offs and landings. In those days there was no road north of Campbell River. So the only way to get around was by air. I guess with the arrival of the road network the increased competion for freight and people movements has compromised safety.
This really caught my attention: "Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board have developed a culture of secrecy, where whistle-blowers are persecuted" and caused me to look up Canadian whistleblower protections, as I thought that was something which had been umbrella'ed under the Accountability Act - wasn't it Baird himself who introduced this? It seems that our "world-class" Act isn't worth the paper it is written on.
If Harper gets a majority, just watch what happens to government regulation and oversight – and not just of airline safety. Downsizing safety is part and parcel of the Republican Party ideology that the Conservative Party has swallowed hook, line, and sinker. Voter beware!
It is stated, by many in the aviation industry, that the biggest risk to aviation safety in Canada; is Transport Canada.
More evidence of the truth of this statement.
