BC news round up - week 30

A round up of aviation news in BC/YT and with major airlines who serve BC.  All photos my own unless stated.  

If anyone has any news or photos particularly from elsewhere in BC or Yukon - please comment or send to me via email cangloballog@gmail.com

NEW DELIVERIES

20th July ... C-FMIO ... DHC 3 Walter Turbine Otter ... Sealand Avn [Campbell River] ... ex N6281

Seen at Sealand Campbell River in May 2023 after transfer from C-GSUV to N6281

21st July ... C-FIIA ... Eurocopter AS350 AStar ... Qwest Helicopters [Fort Nelson] ... ex RP-C3284

21st July ... C-GIIZ ... Boeing 737-8 ... WestJet

22nd July ... C-GELU ... Boeing 737-8 ... Air Canada Rouge ... transferred from AC

CANCELLATIONS

None

ACCIDENTS

20th July ... Cessna 172 ... crashed and subsequently sank into Seagram Lake north of Squamish / west of Brandywine Falls around 11pm, they were rescued about 2am the following day and brought to YVR by RCAF Cormorant.  I have been unable to find the ID of the aircraft so far and routing why they would be flying in the mountains at night.

23rd July ... N709KA ... DHC 3 Vazar Turbine Otter ... Kenmore Air [Kenmore WA] ... crashed on the shore of Sucia Island (San Juan Islands WA) just a few kms from BC territorial waters after video footage showed an unstable emergency landing

Image provided by KOMO News prior to being engulfed in flames

Image provided by CBS News

24th July ... N230SM ... Cessna 750 Citation X ... Hyak Avn [Casper WY] ... I personally oberserved it cancel it's departure from YVR and sat on the taxiway for several hours presumably disabled somehow surround by four fire trucks, diverting all traffic from the south side to cross the runway using the eastern end taxiways and some congestion.  Located at the end of 08R, it was too far for any photos.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

21st July ... Porter A/L reinstate $40 fuel surcharge on all bookings after halfing the amount in June, other airlines are expected to follow suit.

22nd July ... YVR celebrate their 95th birthday, the original terminal building was roughly on the site of the present south terminal.  During WW2, it became an airforce base named RCAF Sea Island and Boeing had a factory there where they built fuselage sections for the B29 bomber as well as the Catalina seaplane under license named the Canso and the rare Blackburn Shark torpedo bomber for the RCAF (a propeller remains on the wall above the bathrooms).  The large hangar currently shared by Pacific Coastal and Harbour Air was part of this building and it would have extended west where there is now the ramp and former LAS / current Skyservice hangar.  The community of Burkeville was originally prefab buildings for servicemen and their families and many of them are still obviously refurbished originals and the streets are all named after aircraft.  The current main terminal opened in 1968, becoming necessary when passenger numbers increased with the increase in aircraft size with the DC6, DC7, DC8, 707, 727, Britannia, Vanguard and so on.  The original Vancouver airport was actually in Minoru Park in central Richmond until 1931 and the current site was chosen by none other than Charles Lindbergh as a site for his fledgling air mail enterprises.

Photo of original terminal from City of Richmond Archives

Image of the Boeing factory from Sea Island Heritage Society

24th July ... In view of potential flight attendant industrial action from 2nd August, WestJet will allow guests a one time chance to change bookings free of charge.

25th July ... BC Wildfire Service have announced that due to the significant increase is fire activity in BC that additional help is on the way.  They include an addtional Electra (Air Spray) and Q400 and Avro (Conair), 3x CL 415's from Quebec, 2 skimmers and bird dog from Alberta plus three more helicopters from the CIFFC pool (Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre).

25th & 26th July ... Vanderhoof Airshow.  Performers seemed to have included a Harvard 3 ship, a Vans RV, RCMP AStar and pleasure flights on a hot air balloon and helicopters.

Image from Vanderhoof International Airshow Society on Facebook

25th July ... At about 1630 a motorhome drive through the fence at Abbotsford airport on Threshold Drive at the back of the UFV facility and on to the Conair ramp, reports say on an active runway, the driver being arrested.

Images from Global News

FOR THE DIARY - from YVR unless stated

1st August ... Air Canada weekly AC315/6 787-9 service to Honolulu [HNL] until 7th September.

4th August ... Canadian Snowbirds display in Victoria.

7th August ... Abbotsford Airshow, also 8th and 9th incl Canadian Snowbirds.

12th August ... Canadian Snowbirds display over White Rock - the last time in BC

15th August ... Chilliwack Flight Fest.

22nd August ... Air North resume seasonal Yellowknife [YZF].

28th August ... final Sun Country A/L Minneapolis St Paul [MSP] seasonal flight

29th August ... Langley Regional airport Air Fare between 1000 - 1700.

31st August ... final summer seasonal ANA service from Narita [NRT] NH135/6 arr 1040 dep 1230.

1st September ... BA86/7 reverts from 777-200ER back to 787-8.

8th September ... BA84/5 from London Heathrow [LHR] switches from A350-1000 to 777-200ER.

18th September ... final British A/W BA2278/9 summer seasonal from London Gatwick [LGW].

1st October ... final British A/W BA86/7 summer seasonal from London Heathrow [LHR].

22nd October .... final summer seasonal Edelweiss Air from Zurich [ZRH].

24th October ... Aviation Expo at South Arm United Church 11051 No 3 Road between 1100-1600.

25th October ... Lufthansa from Frankfurt [FRA] switches from 747-400 to 787-9.

25th October ... final summer seasonal Condor from Frankfurt [FRA].

26th October ... KLM from Amsterdam [AMS] switches from 777-300ER to A330-200.

17th November ... additional 3x weekly Philippine A/L A350-900 from Manila [MNL] PR136/7 arr 0800 dep 1210 for a daytime departure.  Will revert to 777-300ER 1st December.

21st November ... Delta A/L twice daily from Los Angeles [LAX] with A319 DL3192 arr 1140 dep 1250 and DL3184 arr YVR 1810 dep 1930.

1st December ... Air Canada AC1314/1317 to Cancun [CUN] upgrades to 787-9.

December ... new Air Canada (Rouge) seasonal services : 3rd Monterrey [MTY], 7th Puerto Escondido [PXM], 13th Liberia [LIR], 15th Mazatlan [MZT] and 17th Sapporo-Chitose [CTS] (mainline 787-9).

30th January ... 3x weekly additional Philippine A/L from Manila [MNL] PR136/7 reverts from 777-300ER to A350-900.

28th May ... Air North launch Kamloops [YKA] summer seasonal Monday & Friday, later Wednesday.

INTERESTING VISITORS - foreign registered, special liveries and rare non scheduled visitors

20th July ... LV-KLB ... Gulfstream G550 ... Pacific Ocean [San Fernando]

Photo by Rob Reid, arriving from Farmingdale Republic NY, must be hangared as has not departed

20th July ... N17VV ... Swearingen SA227TT Merlin 300 ... Pro Field Services [Hallettsville TX]

Photo by Rob Reid, arriving from Victoria TX via Cheyenne WY

20th July ... N650LY ... Embraer Legacy 600 ... Executive Avn [Casper WY]

20th July ... 146449 ... Bell CH146 Griffon ... RCAF 408 Sqdn [Edmonton AB]

2nd frame into Heli One, I believe they have taken over the mx contract from Alpine

20th July ... P4-BFRS ... Gulfstream G550 ... Bestfly Aruba [Luanda Angola]

Photo by King Hui on Flickr, I believe it came in from Brazil which would be a logical stop from Angola

22nd July ... XA-NDY ... Bombardier Challenger 605 ... Aerolineas Ejecutivas [Toluca]

Seen on a previous visit in Aug 2022, arrived from Monterrey Del Norte and departed to Salt Lake City

22nd July ... C-GKGP ... Cessna 208 Caravan ... Seair Seaplanes

Registered 8th July, formerly N518KM with Kenmore Air

20th July ... N5129V ... Morrisey (Varga) 2150A Kachina ... Private [Hood River OR]

Photo by Tim Martin in Victoria.  It first visited YVR on 16th July from Portland OR (I didn't see it parked anywhere...) and departed to Victoria on the 18th, Squamish on the 20th, back to YVR on the 22nd and on to Boundary Bay and onward to Friday Harbor WA

23rd July ... C-GOSA ... ATR 72-202 ... Summit Air [Yellowknife NT]

23rd July ... OE-IGL ... Bombardier Global 6000 ... Glock Avn [Klagenfurt]

Photo by Rob Reid, arrived from Rotterdam

23rd July ... T7-178HT ... Bombardier Global 7500 ... Haitian Int'l [Dalian]

24th July ... 295504 ... Airbus CC295 Kingfisher ... RCAF 442 Sqdn [CFB Comox]

Photo by Rob Reid

25th July ... VH-X4M ... Airbus A220-300 ... Qantas Link [Adelaide] ... opb National Jet Systems

On it's delivery flight from the factory in Mirabel

Shout out to Abbotsford who on 22nd July saw C-GNLA Boeing 737-2L9 (ADV) of Nolinor Aviation and to Whitehorse who on 23rd July saw 330003 Airbus CC-330 Husky with the RCAF.

A number of retired of H model RCAF Lockheed CC130 Hercules have arrived at the Cascade facility in Abbotsford, I got a few photos, we'll have to wait for the airshow to get some better ones airside.

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