A West Wind Aviation investigation into its pilot training records led to retraining and new company processes, according to an airline official.
Dennis Baranieski, the company’s vice-president of business development and customer relations, confirmed on Sept. 20 that the airline had put its “fleet of aircraft on hold” as it investigated what he said were discrepancies related to pilot training records.
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In an interview Thursday he said that investigation was for the most part complete.
Baranieski said the company was evaluating its pilot training records and found some of the records “may have had some uncertainty as to whether the training actually had occurred or whether that training in fact had not been record properly.”
“We immediately said if there’s some uncertainty to any part of our operation, let’s put our aircraft on hold, let’s dig into that uncertainty,” Baranieski said.
West Wind employs roughly 60 pilots, according to Baranieski, and he said the majority of them had to undertake some form of retraining.
“It ranged from possibly none for some and a few for others,” Baranieski said.
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The investigation also resulted in a new a internal team and new processes when it comes to its training records, according to Baranieski.
“We’ve learnt that we needed to apply more process and rigor to our pilot training records and that’s what we’ve done,” he said.
“We’ve looked at that and said we need to apply more resources.”
Baranieski added that West Wind “is passionate about safety” and if there is ever any uncertainty regarding safety, the company will take immediate action.
West Wind utilized its industry partners and its subsidiary Transwest Air to operate its flight schedule during the retraining process, according to Baranieski. He said six planes are still not in use; however the company is able to operate all of its routes without delays or re-scheduling.