Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (July 23/99) - John Ostashek has been a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer for 13 years now.

He's the owner of Northern Aviation Maintenance, Ltd. and has worked exclusively on aircraft in and around the North, including all the planes in Fort Simpson.

Growing up North of 60, Ostashek said he's been involved with aircraft as long as he can remember.

"I grew up in the Yukon territory," Ostashek recalled. "My dad was a big game guide outfitter and had two aircraft in his small charter operation.

"I've been around planes all my life," he added.

Working and flying with his dad's planes was a good start for a career in aircraft maintenance, he said.

"I graduated high school and went to the Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek in Œ86 and Œ87," he said. "From there I went to work for Dave Hall at North Star Aircraft in Fort Nelson. In 1995, I bought him out."

With partner Allen Catt, Ostashek keeps pretty busy flying in and around the North servicing the big birds. He's got the same group of customers he's had since he started.

"I've worked on this same group of aircraft my entire career," he said. "We maintain all the aircraft in Fort Simpson -- Simpson Air, South Nahanni Air and Wolverine Air."

The business of aircraft maintenance is a little more complicated than just turning wrenches and changing oil, he said. There are lives in the balance when he checks an aircraft out.

"We're licensed for all aircraft up to 12,500 pounds gross takeoff weight," he said. "That takes us from the little guys all the way up to the twin Otter that South Nahanni has down there.

"The majority of our work is what we call line maintenance," he said. "Every 50 hours these small aircraft require an inspection -- it's all preventative maintenance."

Despite his rigorous checks to the aircraft, sometimes they still fall, he said. But he can help there too.

"If you crash that thing I can fix it," he smiled.

"Another aspect of our work is what we call aircraft recovery," Ostashek said. "If there is an accident out in the bush, we go out by helicopter, fix them up on site and fly them out."

An American pilot once had a brush with mortality when he ran out of gas in Nahanni National Park.

"In Œ95 we had an American run out of fuel on a gravel bar just above Virginia Falls," he said. "We went in there with a Bell 205 and slung it out to Prairie Creek.

"He got lost, ran out of fuel and had to put her down," he said. "The Americans are so used to flying with their VOR (variable omni range) for navigational aids. He lost the VOR signal and didn't have GPS."

Recovering downed aircraft is a big part of his job, he said.

"We've done a lot of aircraft recoveries," he said. "Outfitters, guides, resident hunters and whatnot -- we go in and retrieve them, bring them back out."

The company is also licensed to do full rebuilds on engines and exteriors.

"We just finished a structural rebuild of an old Cessna 185," Ostashek said. "We worked on that for about 10 months.

"We do a lot of work for insurance companies: structural repairs and rebuilds," he said, "and these airplanes...to keep them flying. Every few years the tail sections get beat up. We reskin them and try to keep them all in good shape and flying high."

The Simpson pilots don't make life too hard on the engineer. He says the fly boys here really baby their planes.

"These commercial guys look after these planes very well," he said. "They make my job a hell of a lot easier."