NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Germanwings airline disaster may have happened in the French alps, but many Northern airlines have also made changes to prevent a similar accident from happening here.

Air Tindi's Dash 7 - Combi Airliner is one of the few charter aircraft that would be required to follow federal Transport Minister Lisa's Raitt's directive, except it already had a rule requiring two crew members in the cockpit at all times. - photo courtesy of Greg Neufeldt

On March 24, Germanwings flight 9525 did not make it to its intended destination of Duesseldorf, Germany, due to what prosecutors say was a deliberately planned crash. Investigators say pilot Andreas Lubitz was alone in the cockpit of the Airbus A320 before the aircraft's sudden descent in an apparent suicide attempt. All 150 passengers and crew on board did not survive. Two days later, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt issued an interim order that required two crew members "be in the flight deck at all times to ensure the security of Canadian passengers."

On March 27, Canadian North announced it would immediately be following Raitt's direction.

"In instances where the captain or first officer is required to leave the flight deck, a flight attendant will then occupy the flight deck and will remain there until the captain or first officer returns," said the company's news release.

Canadian North also said all of its hired pilots are required to hold an airline transport pilot licence, must have at least 3,500 hours of previously logged flight time before hiring and then complete roughly 10 weeks of training, exams and flight tests before they are certified to fly. Pilots are also required to undergo an annual medical examination.

Summit Air president Rob Mauracher said prior to the crash in the French Alps, the company's standard operating procedures already had a "two person always in the flight deck" rule that placed a flight attendant in the cockpit when pilots stepped away to use the washroom or "stretch their legs."

And in a written statement, First Air spokesperson Alethea Arnaquq-Baril said that after Raitt's announcement, the company "immediately ensured our procedures are in line with this new directive."

However, many private charter companies don't anticipate any changes due to the simpler design of their aircraft and much smaller passenger loads.

Northwestern Airlines co-owner Brian Harrold told News/North the Germanwings situation would never happen to companies like his or Buffalo Airways. That's because Canadian regulations mandate that smaller, charter planes, such as Northwestern's British Aerospace Jetstream 31, aren't allowed to have cockpit doors.

In the Germanwings crash, a voice recorder indicated the pilot had been locked out of the cockpit.

"There's always access," Harrold said on the phone from the company's head office in Fort Smith. "If one of the pilots did go bonkers, the other pilot would just call people from the back."

In fact, the largest capacity of Northwestern's fleet is set at only 19 passengers, including two crew members.

While much of Air Tindi's fleet includes planes with no closed cockpits, such as its Twin Otters and King Airs, it does have one 44 seater aircraft, a Dash 7. However, company president Al Martin said a two-person policy had already been in place for several years.

Harrold also said the small size of the planes and the communities being served by many Northern private charter companies contributes to a very different culture for his pilots compared to those working for major companies like Air Canada or WestJet.

"Here, our guys, they go Ski-dooing and fishing together and build additions on the houses. All of the guys know each other," he said, also referencing the pilots working for Air Tindi, Summit Air, and Arctic Sunwest.

Harrold said greater levels of personal interaction among the different crew members from each of the companies, as well as with residents in the communities like Hay River, establishes a stronger connection and sense of rapport between staff and passengers.

"It's totally different than the Germanwings because those guys hadn't met each other before."

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