SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The airshow may be down a daredevil this weekend after an engine failure caused a pilot to make an emergency landing on Deh Cho Boulevard between Kam Lake and the Sandpits on Friday afternoon.

Stefan Trischuk, a pilot who was scheduled to take part in the airshow this weekend, was forced to make an emergency landing on Deh Cho Boulevard on Friday afternoon. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

Twenty-six year old stunt pilot Stefan Trischuk said he was flying his Pitts Special single-engine biplane “Stinger” from Fort Smith to Yellowknife to take part in the airshow when he noticed that his engine was malfunctioning.

The Saskatoon native told Yellowknifer that once the engine cut out, he realized he wasn't going to be able to make it to runway at the airport. That's when he started scanning for somewhere where he could land the plane safely.

“I picked the only landable surface as a runway. I had no other choice,” he said.

Trischuk said every pilot practices emergency landings as part of their training, but that it's not the same as the real thing.

“It's a terrible situation when it does happen in real life,” he said.

Although he was focused on landing the plane safely, he said his biggest concern was that he had to make sure that he was not endangering members of the public in the process.

“That's definitely more important than saving damage on the airplane or anything,” he said, adding the plane incurred minor damages as a result of the landing.

Both the city and airport sent out emergency crews to the scene, but left once it was verified that no one was injured. RCMP closed the road for approximately 30 minutes as the plane was loaded onto the back of a trailer and taken back to the airport.

Trischuk later said mechanics were trying to help him fix his plane in time for the airshow on Saturday, but was unsure whether he would be able to fly.

“This is a crappy situation, but it could have gone a lot worse,” he said. “I'm just lucky it didn't happen over Great Slave.”

Trischuk is currently being filmed as part of a Discovery Channel series about airshow pilots. The crew is currently in Yellowknife filming the pilot's exploits in the lead-up to the international airshow.

The show's producer, Robert “Scratch” Mitchell, said once he heard Trischuk was having difficulties, he dispatched fellow pilot John Melby to the air to assist him. Melby then contacted camera crews who rushed to the site where the plane landed. Mitchell said he was relieved to hear Trischuk wasn't hurt in the incident.

“You don't want anything bad to happen to the people on your television series,” he said.

While Mitchell was relieved, he said it is incidents – such as Trischuk's emergency landing – are the kinds of things that attract viewers.

“It's these kinds of things that demonstrate the stakes of this type of flying,” said Mitchell. “To have it come close to the edge of disaster and get away lucky … that becomes a compelling story.

“If it turns out negatively, that doesn't make for very fun TV.”