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Two-year-old's death prompts report Coroner recommends installation of automated weather stations in NWT airportsMiranda Scotland Northern News Services Published Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012
He remembers waiting hours for a medevac to arrive in Fort Liard to take his sick little girl to Stanton Territorial Hospital. He remembers helping give her CPR on the flight and losing her on Dec. 1, 2011. "I wouldn't want to go through anything like that again and I think that no one else would want to too," Klondike said. Five-hour delay An NWT coroner's report revealed the child died after a five-hour delay between when a medevac was ordered for Klondike and when the aircraft was finally able to leave Yellowknife. The delay was a result of the pilot's inability to easily obtain an altimeter reading because Fort Liard's Community Aerodrome Radio Station (CARS) was shut down until Dec. 2. In response to this information, coroner Cathy Menard recommended that automated weather stations be installed at airports across the territory to prevent other medevac delays. Menard's report notes that in many airports in the territory aviation weather reports can only be obtained from the local CARS operator, which poses a problem. "There is no requirement for 24-hour coverage at many of the CARS stations," she stated. "In many circumstances this can cause cancellations or delays of scheduled flights, charter, and medevac flights in these communities." In Fort Liard, for instance, NAV Canada is only required to provide a five-day per week 40-hour service. CARS service levels at Northern and remote airports were designated by Transport Canada in 1996, according to NAV Canada. "Any decision to provide services beyond that would be a shared responsibility among the territorial government and Transport Canada as the safety regulator," stated an e-mail from the organization's media relations manager, Ron Singer. In 2011, the Air Tindi Standard Operating Centre (SOC) couldn't get a weather report from the CARS because it was closed. Instead, Fort Liard RCMP tracked down a pilot who was overnighting in the community and he provided the required reading to the Yellowknife base. Finally, Klondike arrived at Stanton Territorial Hospital more than eight hours after the original medevac call was made. She was pronounced dead 30 minutes later. An autopsy showed Klondike died as a result of sepsis due to Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium which can cause meningitis. The report on her death recommends that the Department of Transportation, GNWT, Transport Canada and NAV Canada work together to fund and install Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) to supplement the weather capabilities at airports in the territory. The cost of an AWOS depends on its location, Singer said, adding the machine could cost $1 million or more. NAV Canada has installed one of these systems in Wekweeti and it will become operational Nov. 15. Still, Singer added, the organization is prepared to work with the parties mentioned in the report to install more systems. "We look forward to further discussions with our partners," he said. Transport Canada representatives said they have plans to review the recommendations from the coroner's office and will make a decision from there. Meanwhile, DOT is prepared to play a supportive role, according to the department's media spokesperson, Earl Blacklock. "Our role is just to do what we've done for a while now, to make the case that it should happen and press for it but we don't have a direct role in terms of funding or implementing," said Blacklock. "We think that the coroner's report is something that should be considered seriously by all players and we stand ready to assist those that are responsible for navigation in what ever way we can." Klondike said he hopes that changes are made for the sake of others. "It's a good idea, I guess to prevent it from happening to anyone else," he said.
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