A medical transport travelling from Stony Rapids to Saskatoon was forced to make an emergency landing in Prince Albert on Saturday due to engine concerns.
Dispatchers received a call at around 12:24 p.m. from the crew of a Transwest MEDEVAC flight saying they were experiencing an “inflight reportable aviation incident.” The aircraft was able to land without incident at around 12:35 p.m. in Prince Albert.
Transwest president and CEO Derek Nice said the pilots noticed a fluctuation in the engine, and decided to shut it off and land in Prince Albert as a precautionary measure. There were no injuries as a result of the incident.
‘We always err on the side of caution,” Nice said during a phone interview on Monday. “We don’t take chances.”
Transwest technicians in Prince Albert will inspect the aircraft to identify what caused the problem. Nice said they’ll return it to service after repairs.
There were two flight crew members, two emergency medical services personal and one patient on the flight. Paramedics from Parkland Ambulance Care Ltd. were called to the airport to transfer the patient to a local hospital, where they were admitted for further care.
Transwest said Transport Canada and the Transport Safety Board have been notified of the emergency landing. Transwest is also compiling a safety management system (SMS) report of the incident.
Nice said the SMS report will identify the root causes of the problem, and help ensure the problem doesn’t happen again.
He also thanked the pilots for their work in safely landing the plane.
“The pilots followed all of our standard operating procedures, (and) did a great job,” he said. “We’ve got full confidence in them and our aircraft.”
