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Alkan Air

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Alkan Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
- AKN ALKAN
Founded1977
AOC #Canada: 3574[1]
United States: BW7F467F[2]
HubsWhitehorse, Yukon
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Secondary hubsMayo, Yukon
Fleet size23[3]
HeadquartersWhitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Websitewww.alkanair.com

Alkan Air Ltd. is an airline headquartered in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The company operates seven-day-a-week charter and air ambulance (medevac) services. The Whitehorse and Mayo (seasonal) bases generally focus on wheel and floatplane charter and medevac services in northern and western Canada and Alaska. The Nanaimo, BC base provides charter and medevac services, focused primarily in western Canada, the western United States and Mexico. From 2016 to 2018, Alkan also operated scheduled flights between Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and Watson Lake Airport.[4][5]

History

Alkan Air was formed in 1977 by Barry Watson and two Whitehorse businessmen, Win and Joe Muff. It was named in honour of the famous Alaska Highway or Al-Can Highway which skirts the City of Whitehorse. Hugh Kitchen became a partner in 1987 when Win and Joe Muff decided to sell their stake in the company in order to start a telecommunications business in Whitehorse.

The company began by operating a Cessna 206 on floats/skis and a Cessna 337 on wheels. Expansion soon followed and by 1987, when float and ski operations were discontinued, Alkan Air was one of the main providers of scheduled service in Yukon. In the early 1990s, the company gradually phased out scheduled flights in order to focus on charter operations. High performance, pressurized Beech King Airs were introduced in 1994.

Alkan Air primarily flies charter operations for hunting outfitters and government operations. Three Kings Airs are dedicated to flying medevacs for the Yukon Government.[6]

In October 2015, Alkan Air opened a flight training school to accommodate a need in Yukon for people wanting to learn to fly. As of 2016, the flight school operates two Cessna 172's, a Piper PA-34 Seneca 3[7] and can train for Private and Commercial Licenses and multi-engine and instrument ratings. In addition, Alkan Air operates a Transport Canada certified simulator for instrument training.[8]

Fleet

Alkan Air BE20 at Cambridge Bay Airport

As of September 2019, Transport Canada lists the following aircraft:[3]

Alkan Air fleet
Aircraft No. of Aircraft Variants Notes
Beechcraft 1900 2 1900D Based in British Columbia[9]
Beechcraft Super King Air 6 200, 300/350 Based in British Columbia and Yukon[9]
Cessna 172 4 172M, 172N, 172Q Not listed at Alkan site[9]
Cessna 208 Caravan 4 208, 208B Based in Yukon, float planes[9]
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver 1 DHC-2 MK.I Operated on floats[9]
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter 2 DHC-3-T Turbo-Otter Both operate on wheels/skis in winter and floats in summer. Based in Yukon[9]
Dornier Do 228 2 228-202 Based in Yukon[9]
Piper PA-31 Navajo 1 PA-31-350 Chieftain Based in Yukon[9]
Piper PA-34 Seneca 1 PA-34-220T Seneca III Used exclusively for flight training. Based in Yukon[9]

In addition Transport Canada lists a Cessna 206[10] and a DHC-3 Otter[11] with cancelled certificates.

Accidents and incidents

C-FSKF, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in Whitehorse approximately one year earlier

On August 6, 2019, a Cessna 208B (C-FSKF) crashed into a mountain near Mayo Airport killing the pilot and the only passenger. The aircraft had departed Rau strip, a remote airstrip serving a mineral exploration camp about 150 km (93 mi) northeast of Mayo.[12][13] The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigation report into the accident was released on July 29, 2020,[14] and identified poor pilot decision making in conditions of poor weather in mountainous terrain as a major cause of the crash.[15]

References

  1. ^ Transport Canada (2019-09-05), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  2. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  3. ^ a b "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Alkan Air". Transport Canada. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  4. ^ "Watson Lake, Yukon, welcomes 1st scheduled flight in decades". CBC News North. September 13, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Alkan Air to cancel Watson Lake flights". yukon-news.com. Yukon News. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. ^ Air Ambulance
  7. ^ "Flight Training Fleet". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  8. ^ "Flight Training". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Our Fleet
  10. ^ Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details Cessna 206
  11. ^ Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-3
  12. ^ "CADORS report for Alkan Air (C-SRKF)". Transport Canada.
  13. ^ 2 dead in plane crash near Yukon's Mayo Lake
  14. ^ "Air transportation safety investigation report A19W0105". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Government of Canada. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  15. ^ "Pilot decision-making in poor weather contributed to fatal 2019 controlled flight into terrain accident near Mayo, Yukon". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Government of Canada. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
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