Safety rules not followed, Sask. northern airline says

A small airline serving northern Saskatchewan has suspended two pilots pending an investigation into a failure to follow de-icing procedures.

Documents obtained by CTV News outline concerns about a November 15 Rise Air flight out of Points North Landing, a remote community hundreds of kilometres north of La Ronge.

A complainant, who asked to remain anonymous, said the crew conducted a take off with critical surfaces contaminated by ice, and refused de-icing spray when offered.

The documents obtained by CTV News include photos of the portions of the plane covered in ice.

Rise Air formed in 2021 through a merger of Transwest Air and West Wind Aviation, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.

It provides commercial and medical air service to communities including Stony Rapids, Fond Du Lac, Points North and Wollaston Lake.

In 2017 a West Wind flight out of Fond Du Lac crashed after takeoff due to ice contamination, seriously injuring nine passengers and one crew member.

One of the injured passengers later died in hospital.

On Sunday, Rise Air confirmed that two pilots were on administrative leave following the Nov. 15 incident.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the airline said it was investigating an “apparent failure” to follow de-icing procedures.

“Our training and policies may not have been followed,” the statement said. “Failure to comply with our policies is not consistent with our culture of safety. We have been in contact with Transport Canada about this isolated event. No accident took place and there has been no impact on operations.”

Transport Canada did not respond to questions as of publication time.

Rise Air contacted CTV on Monday evening to say Transport Canada was satisfied with the airline’s internal processes and would not be conducting an investigation.