Bob Jensen likely dead on impact
Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 14/01) - Pioneer aviator Bob Jensen died last week after his small plane crashed near the top of a mountain in Washington.
It is still unknown what caused the small Cessna to go down on March 8. The 69-year-old Yellowknife charter company founder was the only one aboard when it crashed about 100 feet from the summit of Mica Peak, near Spokane.
The mountain is not high but there were poor weather conditions, including a low weather ceiling at the time of the accident, says Spokane medical examiner Dr. George Lindeholme. The accident was "terrible," said Lindeholm, a former Alaska pilot.
He concludes that Jensen probably died instantly from a massive impact injury sustained to his head.
"There are some interesting aspects to the case" but it's up to the Federal Aviation Authority to release more, he said. An aviation authority spokesman was not available at press time.
After staying in Calgary with his wife Millie since Christmas, Jensen was retrieving the Cessna he had tried selling in the U.S., said pilot and family friend Jim Phillips. It belonged to Jensen's company Great Bear Aviation.
A qualified funeral director, Jensen, the founder of Spur Aviation, pioneered airborne funeral homes in the early 1960s to serve isolated Northern settlements.
"He was very good at it. Professional, compassionate and respectful of the elders...a true gentleman," said Buffalo Airways owner Joe McBryan.
In recent years Jensen's charter business had shrunk, and he was focused on teaching new pilots. Phillips said that Jensen's instructor certification was up to date at the time of the crash.
Colleagues say his death is another notch toward the end of an era in northern aviation, with Jensen being among the last independent-minded pilots.
In recent years he unsuccessfully fought an avalanche of new flying rules and clashed with a burdensome regulatory system.
He couldn't keep up with a mountain of new paperwork required over the past decade, said McBryan.
He believed that spending his time on mechanical work to keep planes flying safely was more important.
"He put the hands-on work ahead of the paperwork. Some people put good paperwork ahead of running a good operation," said McBryan, who along with other aviators describe Jensen in glowing terms.
Bob O'Connor of Aero Arctic Helicopters said Jensen was "a generous soul" who "would give you the shirt off his back."
He and McBryan benefited from his kindness in the past, when they both struggled to build their own aviation companies -- gestures including loaning parts and tools, and charging minimal rates for flights when neither Jensen or the other companies had much cash.
They say that type of comraderie and giving is no longer common in a modern, ultra-competitive industry.
"He's a breed that's passing on. He got the job done and he did it himself...I admired his ability to work so long and so hard at so many things," said McBryan.
Jensen has four children from a previous marriage -- Blair, Deleigh, Rick and Shelly.
Family members, who are in Spokane, could not be reached.
Jensen's funeral will take place in Swift Current Sas.,wan, with a memorial service to be scheduled for Yellowknife.
