Al6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 17, 1990

Thrills on the runway

by Tod Strachan

Many people complain about the
air service in the Terrace-Kitimat
area. Almost everyone has taken
one of our famous three-hour bus -
rides home from Prince Rupert or
Smithers after a one-hour flight
from Vancouver.

It’s frustrating, there’s no doubt.
But real Terrace boosters say it’s
not really all that bad. It could and
does, they say, happen at every
other airport in the land. Chronic
complainers, though, say: that’s
utter nonsense. "I could see the
runway," they say. “It’s all a
devious plan to discourage us so
we won't complain when they cut
the service.” .

This ongoing argument may

~ finally have been settled. It’s true.
These pilots that fly into our area
every day are good. They can land
almost any way, under almost any
circumstances, Any chronic com-
plainers that were on a Terrace
bound Canadian Airlines Boeing
737+ =«last «Thursday moming,
though, may have changed their
minds about the wisdom of landing
when things are touch and go.

Ending a relatively pleasant
journey by travelling down the
runway sideways at a speed of
well over 100 miles an. hour is not
a pleasant experience. Complainers
might now be saying, "The bus
ride is kind of nice. Gives you a
chance to see the country..."

Five members of the Premier's
Advisory Council on Science and
Technology were on that flight and
they agree. The bus ride can be a
pleasant experience. At the same
time, though, they give top marks
to their Canadian Airlines pilot.
When the going gets tough it’s
kind of nice to know the guy up
front, the guy who has your life in
his hands, can handle the aircraft

like a sports car,

In disjointed union, the Premier’s
Advisory Council described their
experience to the Terrace Review.
It was an ordinary flight; even the
part where visibility was a little

_ short at-the Terrace airport. The
pilot aborted his approach, headed
for Smithers, and passengers began
to. contemplate the inevitable bus
ride. They were supposed to be in

Terrace at 10 a.m. but now it
would be more like 1 p.m.

The landing in Smithers was
alright. The weather was nice. And
the pilot had some good news...
He was going to take another shot
at a Terrace landing; everyone just
might be in Terrace before junch.

No such luck, however. Terrace
was still socked in and passengers
were told they were Smithers
bound once more, And this time, it
was the bus for sure.

In the few minutes since they
had left Smithers, however, the
weather had changed. It was snow-
ing, “a blizzard", and there was
slush on the runway. Visibility was

poor, so the pilot came in high;

apparently to locate the runway.

“This done, he circled and began

‘his approach. Too high again. And
this is where the excitement began.

Everyone was a little tense. Two
missed approaches and you begin
to wonder what's going to happen

next. Well, the one thing the pilot
doesn’t want-to do, apparently, is

lose sight of the ground. There
was a cliff off the right wing tip.
The plane was in a left bank; “I
think to keep the wing from hitting
the cliff." The left bank becomes
steeper; "Trees were flashing by...
We were too low to be flying."
Finally, another approach. And a
Janding... "What the heck... When
we hit the runway we knew it
wasn’t going to be a crash land-
ing." But that feeling didn’t last
long. Reverse thrust... brakes. And

the plane was sideways... Some-.

thing wasn’t equal. Eventually, the
aircraft slid to a halt, "and the
lights at the end of the runway
were right under the end of th
wing."
Welcome to Smithers.
There was a “long” silence —

given the situation, though, “long”
doesn’t necessarily mean very
many seconds. And then the pilot
spoke: "You may have noticed a
couple of brisk maneuvers," recalls
one member of the council. "But
we didn’t have any choice. We
were getting low on fuel."
Again, however, the council had
nothing but praise for the pilot.
"He followed the rules," said one.
And as for the rules, commercial
flights .are supposed to carry
enough fuel for their planned desti-
nation as well as.an alternate plus
40 minutes flying time. for safety.

Nothing was said, but the next:

recommendation of the Premier’s
Advisory Council on Science and

’ Technology may be that the rules
be examined for flaws.

T WAREHOUSE OPERATION

(AH no commission SALES STAFF

HA nocostiy F

NO MEMBERSHIP FEE

RILLS OR GIMMICKS

ow as 1/2

NDOUS

4650 Keith Avenue
Terrace
Phone: 635-4111

~ Bomb threat delays

Terrace departure |

Canadian Airlines International
passengers booked on an evening
flight from Terrace to
Vancouver last Thursday had an
unexpected delay of nearly six
hours. A bomb threat, apparent-
ly phoned from Terrace to the
Canadian Airlines Vancouver
office, delayed the 8:25. p.m.
scheduled take-off time to 2:15
a.m. Friday morning.

Airport manager Darryl
Laurent says the 119 passengers

‘on the flight were asked to get
‘off the aircraft and move to an

isolated location In the Terrace
terminal while all luggage and
cargo was unloaded by a Cana-
dian Airlines ground crew. Pas-

sengers then claimed their per-
sonal luggage and each was
interviewed by an RCMP officer
before being allowed to return to
the normal airport security
check in groups of 20.

After receiving security clear-
ance, passengers were asked to
carry their own luggage onto the

' tarmac and place it by the alr-

craft befere boarding. As one
pfroup finished, another began
the security routine. With all

-passengers back on board, crews —

re-loaded the luggage and cargo

and the flight left Terrace with |

119 passengers, six hours behind
schedule.

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LARGE SELECTION OF BRAND NAMES

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those of regular i _

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Closed Sunday

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