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Seven days of searching

Volunteer gets award

Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 14/03) - Chris Jackson has lived in Iqaluit for about five years now - a long time for most people in the transient community.

NNSL Photo

Chris Jackson received a public service award from the commissioner of Nunavut on July 1. The award recognizes his contribution to the team efforts made in 2000 to find a plane that crashed on its way to Iqaluit from Kimmirut. - Christine Kay/NNSL photo


In the summer of 2000, Jackson was involved in something he said he will never forget. At the time, he was a volunteer search spotter with Civil Aviation Search and Rescue Association. One day, he got a call and responded.

Three years later on July 1, 2003 Jackson efforts in the search and rescue mission were acknowledged.

He received a public service award from Nunavut's Commissioner, Peter Irniq.

"Every day for seven days I was searching with the team," he said.

There were several planes involved in the search. The military provided three Hercules Kenn Borek and First Air provided planes as well. The search started after an ultra-light plane left Kimmirut for Iqaluit and never showed up.

For one week straight, search and rescue looked for signs of the aircraft and its passengers Samaitak Pitseolak and Allan Angmarlik. "I was actually on one of the Hercules. They replace the doors with bubble windows. You're in a chair strapped in and you sit in the bubble," said Jackson.

He explained that visibility was restrained by clouds. He also said patches of snow made spotting the white coloured aircraft very difficult.

It was the plane that Jackson was on that finally spotted the wreckage about halfway between Iqaluit and Kimmirut. Unfortunately, no one survived the crash.

Jackson said finding the plane provided volunteers with a sense of relief and at the same time, disappointment.

Today, Jackson works as a computer technician for Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit.

He said he is very proud of the work everyone involved in the search and rescue effort did.

Although he was given the public service award, Jackson said it really was a team effort and everyone deserves to be recognized.

Jackson, originally from Nova Scotia, plans on being in Iqaluit for some time to come.