a

|

"Legislative Library
| Parliment Buildings
| Victoria, B.C,

V8V-124 Comp.

‘Serving the

_. Progressive —

Northwest

een austen

ow ‘ +
Friday, March23, 1984

“ge

Ken Mayer has had no crash landings to tell about

_. during his career as a bush pilot in British Columbia.

_ Perhapa that is why he has been plying his trade ‘for
22 years.” °

- One memorable experience, however, was when
the single engine malfunctioned in the Otter he was
flying, with four passengers aboard. He had to make
an emergency landing on a rodd near Bowser-Lake,
about 40 miles North of Meziaden, ‘ The road had not
yet opened. [t was in April and the wingtips dragged
in the snow, = «

* Oily one: of his passengers seemed visibly’ ‘upset
and that Is because he was at the back and could not
see what was happening.

“That Is. probably the beat: landing I have ever
made, " Mayer stated.

Another vivid experience he recalls is landing on a ‘

‘mountain tep on @ mossy atretch a helicopter had
marked out for him, above Kinaskan Lake. He was

_ flying in drilling equipment for a inine.. -..

It was wet inder the moss aiid in ten landings he got
stuck seven times.” ‘

“One of the most interesting and challenging
aspects of flying,” Mayer explained “Ig lending on
short strips”,

One time coming into Terrace - Kitimat Airport,
‘the skis would not come up but fortunately there was
a small strip of: spring snow to land in.

Since coming to Terrace he does a lot of fying into
the Deagse Lake area. The runway there was ex- -

~ tended to $000 feet in 1961 and was payed in 1988, He
hauls some ‘freight™ ‘and pasyengers; mainly from
Iscult ‘and Telegraph. ;

He often stea wildlife from the alr. , .

_, {When [ fitat became a commercial pilot,” Mayer -
said, ‘it was like being on vacation all the time - but

then it became a-job.” -

‘He does not approach each takeott and landing with
bated breath wondering if hé's going to make it; but -
rather, it becomes somewhat like driving a car -
“You assume that everything is golng to go well."

Mayer is from Alberta where he lived till he was 13

Alberta, 4 small place near ‘Hilla'Provinclal :

‘a farmer,’ y

A couple of his friends in the forestry talked, about:
can do I can do.” So that’s how it started. At that
private pilot's license and 160 hours to achieve your

commercial Hieense. .
He started by doing some forestry patrol for North- |

years of age. His mother came to teach school at Fox "|
Park South of Medicine Hat, and tharried bis is father, i

iri 1983, becdine 3 eubiaved by ihe treat y at Price®
George. He was with the forestry for peveral years.

taking flying lessons and he thought: “anything they i
time, you needed $0 hours of flying me for your

People you should know

Ken Mayer _Bush

Ken Mayer
wood Pulp Co. in a Super Cub, then became employed. __
by Thunderbird Airlines at Prince George.

Pacific Western Airlines offered him a job. when -
they had the small bush craft. (Cessenas and:
Beavera)...He.was- transferred to Prince Rupert and
was there when PWA sold out to Trans Provincial”
Airlines. In 1963he became based in ‘Terrace and as :
been here ever since. 7

When Mayer was flying. for PWA out of Prince’.
George he used to take fishermen and. hunters into the *

- Fort St. James area and land on floats on the lakes. It: .
: wae at Fort St. James that Rusa Baker, founded PWA

in 147. The aviation: joneer is buried there In'.a’ .“[-:
ie P that kills those who oppose
afe‘what the Fitipsnos .

beautiful spot where there is a view. An interesting,

monument has been erected in-his memory.; ,
Mayer lives on“Tuck Ave, in. Terrace with: ‘ats. ”

_ family. ‘His wife Anne (spelled with an ““E"' like Anne .

‘* of Green Gables) is employed with Wightman end: | .
ves | Smith Anitirance Co; Heldl is In her last’ year of high

gh 'an ‘Douglas is “twelve. Dy
templated beltig ‘a “hell copter “pliot:

Douglas:

. Adaughter Lisa, twenty two, ia working in Victoria, :
* and son Sam, 20, is persuing engineering at B.C.LT. a
Mayet’s family ‘doesn't see much of him in the
summer ‘but during winter months there is more
. letsura time. | .
‘On being asked what he would consider the biggest 7
problem he encounters asa pilot there ‘was no’
hesitation in his- answer --“The local weather.” _

Wap:

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ts Established 1708

Volume 78 No.59

— missionary visits Terrace

“yy RALPH RESCHKE
| Herald Staff Writer

: TERRACE— On a rare

| visit to Terrace, “Father

", Carlo Abesamis SJ, a Jesuit
> missionary
.. Phillipines, spoke to an

’ from - the

Audience of almést 60 people

J at Veritas School, Thuraday

+ evening.

. The main subject of the |

“aeeting was the justice

|. System in the Phillipines
. dnd how the poor common |
. Citizen is being mistreated -

"both by the government and
', international companies

‘that provide mest of the

“work,

« He. aya, that
fhultinational companies
are coming to :the

- Phillipines because of the

cheap labour and ready

-..Supply of raw material.

:: Father Carlos points out

that the military dic-
tatorship presently. in
power, . while trying — to

_sihaintain an international
, ifnage of being In favour. of

gama rights, does not
‘practice this in general.

During a slide .show ,
Jest that evening, he

‘desperate . the.
really, is for ‘the common

Rocking conditions ‘bat
are. next’ to nothing, slums

that harbour epidemics of
“allsease, and a government

fae to put up with.
ys Cocoa | -mothers*:

‘mysteriously disappeared

fe  avernight, only to be found _

lying in a field in the

morning, their bodies

riddled by bullets,
Suppresion is a way of life

for the. vast. majority of.
Filipino’s, a startling 84 per -

eent, that are living below
the poverty level,

“Flight attendant risks life for passengers

CALGARY (CP) — Flight

thick with choking amoke.
attendant Greg Wittig

Transport Canada

with 90,289 litres of water

be late for caucus.”

and foam. Webber's executive

crawled on his hands and
knees through the smoke-

_ filled interior of a Maming ©

jetliner Thursday to ensure
that every. passenger had
escaped, |:
A Pacific Western
Airlines spokesman said
Wittig risked hia Ife. to
check every seat and aisle,

“There was s much

black smoke, you couldn’t

nee inside the cabin," the.

spokesman eaid, =<
The

Airport, sat by the side of

the runway today . as-
Transport Canada = in-—

vestigatora sought clues to

the cause of the fire which. .

destroyed the plane.
No. one was killed: in

Thursday's fire, but 26 of

the 114 passengers and five

crew members abjard the.
‘Edmonton: - .

twin-engine,
bound jetliner were taken to
hospital for treaiment of
variows injuries, The most
serious injury was a broken
a

The $16-million aircraft,
destroyed by the fire which
started as the plane was
speeding down a runway for
takeoff, was part of the 737-
200 series, which can ac-

recalled hearing explosion-
like noises and saw sparks
shortly before flames began

’ apreading trom the area of
the left engine. The plane’

was evacuated as windows
on the left side melted and
flames and smoke seeped
into the cabin.

The cabin was packed ‘

“like sardines" when the
plane came to a stop and an
emergency door was
opened, aid one passenger.

“I didn't think a lot of*.

them would make it,”” said
another passenger, who
said the aircraft's cabin was

charred, bent
wreckage of the Boeing 737;"
which caught fire on takeoff :
- from Calgary International

“between Alberta’s

spokesman Al Froehler, ©
noting his department: has’

classified the fire as a
“major accident,” said it is
too early to comment on the.
cause of the fire, He added it,
may take thiee to four

report.
HEADS INQUIRY
The investigation is being

y

headed by'-a ‘teaim ' front:
Ottawa, ' but® separate ‘jin~
~“yestigations |, will: also. be.
_ conducted by’. the” WS:
. National: ‘Transportation *

Safety ‘Board, :': °
Airersft Corp.

137 engine, Froehler ‘gald.

member. from Hlghvood,,

Seattle, .
and Pratt, and: Whitney:
Corp., manufacturers, ofthe
“ ime that we were gotng. to

The first passenger off the

Plane. was Alberta’ Social’

Services Minister Neti
Webber, who had been
sitting In a front-row seat
beside an. emergency. exit. ~

- HEARD LOUD POP
weeka before the depart- °
. ment issues a preliminary

“We were going north on
the main runway. and, just
seconds away from liftoff, I
hedrd a loud pop, or bang,

Tore like. a pop,” °° Webber |

‘fold reporters mat the
legislature. - one
oe | thought ie was e-tlown ”

}- he .
i ‘Bo

cerned about
ovihing in particdar tper*

‘The. plane's’ flight .data a

and voice
recorders will be taken to
Ottawa for’ decoding, he
added, .

. Eyewitnesses sald the

blaze began on the left wing

‘as the plane gained speed

for. takeoff on the ‘main

“north-south runway.
- The flight, one of 39 s0-

called daily airbus flights
twa
major cities, had been

‘ scheduled to leave at 7:30

am, MST for Edmonton's
downtown Municipal Alr-
port. PWA spokesman Jack
Lawless said it was about 10
minutes behind schedule.

Lawiess said. the pilot,
Capt. Stan Fleming, 43, of
Vancouver, ‘aborted the

‘takeotf when he became

aware of the fire. Fleming,

- with 14 yeara egperience, is

a senior pilot and first of-

floer Andy Bodenbender, 39,
vere of Vancouver, has 10

airport Hlrefighters

-received the’ alarm at 7:42

am. and were at the. scene
in less than a minute, sald
district Fire Chlet Clanéy
‘Yehn. .

He éstimated the fire
burned for about 15 minutes
before It was ‘extinguished

the”.

Transport’. Candda,

assistant, Mark Kastner,
who wai ailtting in the
middle of the cabin, wasn’t
ao lucky. Kastner was one of
the last out of the plane and
saw the whole side of the
plane collapse, sald Web-
ber. ;

“That’s when the. flames
and the smoke shot right
through the cabin.”
‘Kastner was taken to
. Foothills Hospital in
Calgary to be treated for
smoke ~inhalatlon and
possible burned lungs.

- The crew was credited by
fire

department and PWA

spokesmen for the quick |

“and smooth ‘evacuation of

- Calgary.

transmission:

‘Language issue
~ goes to court

WINNIPEG (CP) — — Manitoba's French-language isaue
was addressed on two fronta Thursday: one action drew

“mixed reviews, the other little more than a yawn.

Liberal leadership candidate John Turner clarified his
stand on the issue, a move that prompted some skeptlelsm
from spokesmen on both sides of the question but repaired
his stature with Manitoba Liberals. -

And the federal government decided to go ahead with

plans to refer the question to the Supreme Court of Canada, »

a move that astonished no one. -

“We're not surprised, nor do we much care,” sald an aide
filling in for Manitoba. Premier Howard Pawley, who was
bed-ridden with the flu,

While it may be useful for Manitoba to ‘get & com-
prehensive ruling on |ts English-only laws, the federal
action Is of little concémn to. tke province, which has been
preparing’ itself for anything the court may do, the
government, spokesman said,

" Gilberte ‘Proteau, president of La Societe franco-

- Manitobaine, dald: dhe federal actlon was what the
_ organization had wanted and expected.

’ "We certainly hope the government is going to put an
‘early date on It becauseit is an urgent matter that should be
settled as soon, as possible,” said Proteau, whose
organization represents Manitoba's five-per-cent French-

speaking population. -

Federal Justice Minister Mark MacGuigan sald the
Supreme Court will be asked to make a decision concerning
existing language rights In Manitoba guaranteed by the
Constitution,

the aircraft and = for
preventing panic among the

, Passengers.

The other crew members
were identified as purser
Pattie Dickie and flight
attendants Grant Sherritt’
and Greg Wittig, all of
_PWA ' station
manager Blaine Coffyne, a

_ passenger at the time, also .

assiated In the evacuation:

But passenger Marjene
Antonio, chairman* of - the
Alberta Human Rights
Commission, said the

evacuation tock too long. ,

She estimated it took 16
minutes to Sompletely clear
the pland. «

“Reaction time was so

slow, I can’t figure out what:

took them so long to get to
the plane,” she said.

Antonio said RCMP used
a bullhorn to tell passengers
to move away from the
burning sircraft in case it
exploded, °

She said reaction set in
only when she was aboard a
Time Air flight to Edmonton
later in the day.

“It wasn't until I got onto
the next plane that I
realized what I'd been
through and that’s when I
started to shake,” said
Antonio, who hurt her right
wrist while breaking her fall
‘on the conerete runway.

The fire reaulted In the
cancellation of three other

ed examples of how -

are dangerous, wages that.

situation ©

atlves weeping for. the :
“dr “father that. ‘hed:

He says that until the
political and socic-economle

structure of the country

the

. changes, eommion

citizen ‘cannot look forward
to a different way of life.
Father Carlos’ trip was

Sponsored . by the Prince

"Carlo Abesamis

‘St :

George Diocese and the
Canadian Catholic
Orgenization for ~
Development and Peace,

Phi ad

Picketers found. guilty -

VANCOUVER (CP),.—-
The B.C. and Yukon.
Buildings Trades Council |

was found guilty in B.C.
Supreme Court today of
contempt of court in its
picketing of a luxury con-

: dominium site in False
Creek. :

Chief Justice. Allan
McEachern, who reserved
sentencing until March 20,

said thera was enough -

evidence that the leadership
of the council played an
“active and substantial”
role in encouraging large
numbers of plcketers to be
at’ the site “until the
situation. became  ex-
plosively dangerous.”
Earlier this — month,
McEachern issued an order
limiting pickets to no more
than 12 at each entrance to
the non-union J. C. Kerkhoff
and Sona Ltd. construction

. site and prohibited them

from in-

impeding or

. Umidating Kerkhoff em-

ployeea.

Hundreds of unemployed

union tradesmen have

_ blocked entrances to the

site, angry at the awarding

of a $17-million contract to.

the non-union contractor
after the first phase of a

* development was built with

union labor.

Kerkhoff’ has been
prevented from beginning
work for more than two
weeka and there have been
incidents of rock-throwing
and vandalism of trucks.

The chief justice

dismissed a contempt of.

court charge against the
United Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners of
America, Local 452, saying

sentence would allow the
trade unlonists to consider
their position but “he em-
phasized that the picketing
must stop.

He sald he undertstood

the anger ‘ofthe . trade
unionists and their desire to
stand their ground, but “I
must remind them,
however, that it is not their
ground.”

On Thursday, the union

- protest spread Thursday to

engulf other Kerkhoff
construction sites in the
province. Pickets gathered
at a courthouse and ar-

mories site in Kamloops and
at two projects in
Chilliwack.

Meantime, one man was

‘charged with breaking a

truck mirror —s after
demonstrating unionists
gathered in Kamloops.
“The word is that
picketing is going on at all
Kerkhoff sites in the
province,” said John
Harper, a carpenters’ union
spokesman in Kamloops.
“We're supportive of the
B.C, Building Tradea
Council’s actlons at False
Creek. a”
BLOCK ENTRANCES
Hundreds of unemployed
union tradesmen have
blocked entrancea = at
Kerkhoff’s project at False
Creek, angry at the
awarding of a $17-million
contract to Kerkhotf after
the first phase of the con-
dominium dévelopment was
built with union labor.
Kerkhoff has been
prevented from beginning
work for more than two
weeks and there have been
incidents of rock-throwing

them from impeding or

intimidating . _Kerkhotf
employees.

In court, city police Insp.
Nick Lohin testified that the
trade unionists © demon-

straling at the entrances to

' the False Creek site on one,-

ore

occasion refused a police’
request to allow a truck
access to the job site. Last
Monday, he said,
vehicles were prevented
from entering the gates. .
“The vehicles are not
allowed access to the site
because of the number of
people blocking entrances,” -’
he said, adding that those -
numbers swelled to about

six

.600 from 25, depending on

the time of day.

Gall said the situation at
False Creek has become
“more inflamed'’ and the‘
“source of this unrest” is
the leadership of the two
construction unions.

BROKE LAW
“They have orchestrated
this entire affair,” said.
Gall. “The leaders have:
Intitiated . . . authorized, :
encouraged and incited :
breaking of the order.” :
Gall said he is seeking :
fines but no jail terms. :
Lohin, who heads a zone :
police team responsible for :
the False Creek area, :
testified that the protesters :
crowded around vehicles :
attempting to enter the site, :
Obscenities were shouted at
occupants’ and the crowds :
cheered when the vehicles '
left the area; he said. :
Under questioning by :
defence counsel Harry:
Rankin, Lohin sald he had
“a great deal of co-'

PWA flights Thursday, the there was not enough and vadalism of trucks. _ operation” from the union
diversion of. five to other evidence to show the union = Earlier this month, leaders in discussions about
airports and the delay of 18 had counselled membera to McEachern lesued anorder how to deal with the ~
departures, said airport disobey the court order. limiting pickets to no more situation. He said he had ‘‘a
general manager Larry Justice MeEachern said ‘than 12 at each entrance to lot of respect'' for the
LeGros, he hoped the deferral of the site and prohibiting building trades.
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