Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 05/99) - A major Northern airline has been fined over $100,000 after being convicted of transporting dangerous goods on a passenger flight.

First Air was charged with a total of five counts under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act over the past year and a half, according to an RCMP press release sent out on Tuesday.

Some of those charges include one in May 1998 for transporting canisters of propane and one in March 1999 for having toxic material on passenger flights.

The airline was also charged in June after a piece of cargo on a passenger flight was found to be leaking fuel.

Herb Kretzner, a dangerous goods inspectors for Transport Canada, said the violations were serious ones.

"With the toxic material, an inspector found it during a routine check in Yellowknife," he said. "There was no documentation with the material, and it was sitting right next to a load of groceries."

The material, called hydroquinone, is extremely poisonous.

Besides the fine, the airline also received a two-year probation, during which they must meet all safety practices for transporting dangerous goods.

During sentencing, territorial court Judge Brian Bruser said First Air's procedures for handling dangerous cargo were riddled with carelessness, according to the press release.

The conviction and $105,000 fine came down on Sept. 1, but the RCMP's press release didn't get sent out until this past Tuesday.

Kretzer said the press release did not go out until the appeal period of 45 days ended, just in case First Air decided to appeal the decision. The airline did not, so the information was released.

RCMP Const. Beverly Florence, of the G Division's federal enforcement section, said the police have an agreement with Transport Canada not to comment on the press release.

"This was a joint investigation between ourselves and Transport Canada," she said. "They did the bulk of the work, and we agreed they would comment."

Bob Davies, First Air's vice-president of commercial operations, said the airline has admitted it made mistakes.

"There were errors made in the process of handling and accepting dangerous goods as cargo," he said. "We admitted that in court."

He said First Air has changed the way it accepts and handles dangerous cargo, and no longer allows such things as propane on passenger flights.

"We run designated freighter aircraft, straight freight, to all the communities we serve," Davies said.

Davies was evasive when asked whether anyone was fired over the incidents.

"I haven't said that (no one was fired)," he said. "I said we handled it internally, and we are carrying on with our business as we should."