The chief of a northern Saskatchewan First Nation said while improvements may be coming to a runway at the airport in his community, he won’t rest until safety issues are addressed.
Louis Mercerdi of the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation made the comment on the second anniversary of the fatal West Wind plane crash.
All 25 people on the plane were injured — nine seriously – and 19-year-old Arson Fern Jr. died in hospital after the crash on Dec. 13, 2017.
Mercerdi said he went to Ottawa one week after the crash to lobby for improvements, including lengthening and widening the runway.
“At the time, a lot of promises were made, now two years later, my airport remains the same,” Mercerdi said in a statement.
When the runway was first built, Mercerdi said it was meant for light piston planes carrying up to nine people.
Now, planes carrying up to 50 people are flying into the airport, and West Wind Aviation said it is a safety concern.
“These are short, narrow airfields. Our flight crews must be on their game to carry out operations in the north,” said West Wind CEO Michael Rodyniuk.
“While our operation is safe and regulatory compliant, a wider and longer runway with the associated navigation aids would improve our operation.”
Mercerdi said while the federal government has committed funds to improve the runway, work has not yet started and there are no plans to widen or lengthen it.
“The only way in or out for people, services, medication and food for most of the year is with bigger aircraft, but they use the same small runway,” Mercerdi said.
“The runway is the same 3,800 feet long by 75 feet wide as it was when it was built in the 1970s. We need it to be at least 5,000 feet long and 100 feet wide to be safe for our community.”
The Saskatchewan government has accessed federal funds to improve the runway’s surface, add high-intensity lighting and add painted runway markings, but Mercerdi said the process is taking too long.
“I want to see shovels in the ground in the spring and a commitment to lengthen and widen the runway in a second phase of construction,” he said.
“The safety and health of my people in Fond du Lac is at stake, I won’t rest until it is done.”
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