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SANIKILUAQ
A funeral was held for six-month-old Isaac Appaqaq on Christmas eve inside Sanikiluaq's Katittavik community hall, the largest such facility in the hamlet of about 800 people.

A flight crashed on Dec. 22 while landing on Sanikiluaq's airstrip, leaving a six-month-old child dead and eight people with non-life threatening injuries. - photo courtesy of the RCMP V division

"It was packed," said senior administrative officer Andre Larabie, explaining the tragic plane crash two days earlier impacted everyone whether aboard the plane or not. "They definitely had it in their hearts one way or another."

On Dec. 22, a Perimeter Aviation Fairchild Metro 3 aircraft, chartered to Keewatin Air, crashed during its second landing attempt in blowing snow at Sanikiluaq Airport. According to Nunavut's chief coroner, Padma Suramala, baby Appaqaq was thrown from his mother's arms by the force of the crash and fatally injured; the others, two crew and six passengers, were not seriously hurt in the crash;.

Over the rest of the holidays the downed aircraft, which lost its landing gear on impact and scattered debris as far one kilometre, was cleaned up then cut into pieces and placed in two SEA-CAN containers which now rest by the beach awaiting the first ship out in summer.

"We took it out of the middle of the field so that it's no longer in the face of the mother and father who lost their baby," said Larabie.

"The site was completely cleaned," said Perimeter president Mark Wehrle, who returned to Sanikiluaq with a small team of mechanical engineers after Christmas. He said what pieces remain beneath the snow will have to wait until spring. The aircraft is not salvageable, but the cockpit voice recorder was removed from the aircraft along with the instrument panel and other significant components. These will be examined by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), which is now conducting a full investigation in a Winnipeg lab.

"It's going to take awhile to go through everything, but we're confident we don't have a mechanical issue with the aircraft," said Wehrle. "The public can feel safe in these aircraft which are currently in use around the world."

Wehrle commended the community members for their help in light of the accident, saying he was appreciative and impressed with how well-organized the community was and how they came together so quickly after the plane crash on Dec. 22.

Around 6:30 p.m. that evening, the Sanikiluaq fire department siren sounded and more than two dozen people on snowmobiles and pulling qamutiit raced to the scene to pick up passengers. Hamlet staff and Canadian Rangers helped keep the roads clear and crash site at the south-end of the airport safe.

The TSB will conduct a full three-phase investigation. After examining the wreckage and interviewing witnesses, a team will review records and test components before releasing a report. While the TSB is concerned with survivability in a crash, Transport Canada has jurisdiction over general safety and sets seatbelt regulations.

Because baby Appaqaq was held in his mother’s lap, and not strapped into a seat belt, some have called into question whether or not seatbelts or child-safe seats (such as in a car) should also be mandatory. The territory's chief coroner Padma Suramala said no autopsy was warranted as the baby was thrown from its mothers arms and suffered head injuries.

"On behalf of the Department of Justice, the Office of the Chief Coroner conveys our deepest sympathy to the family and friends and the Sanikiluaq community for their loss," Suramala said in a release.

Pilot Capt. Remi Barre and the co-pilot, first officer Raymond Pennock, were both transported by air to a hospital in Winnipeg after the crash. Barre was released the following day, while Pennock remained under observation but in good condition.

On the website AV Canada, a popular pilot's forum and aviation resource in Canada, one commentator said Barre was an experienced pilot at the company with a wealth of flying knowledge. Another wrote: "Having been into (Sanikiluaq) more times than I can remember it is an unforgiving strip with a pretty severe downslope on the first (third of the) runway and was not very nice most of the winter."

Nunavut News/North was unable to reach Barre, Pennock or the Appaqaq family for comment.

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