Volunteers ready to search
Big turnout for training session in Cambridge Bay
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, July 13, 2015
IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
Should the need arise, Cambridge Bay now has an extensive team of community volunteers trained to assist in search and rescue operations.
Volunteer spotters learn techniques to send signals to the pilot if they want the aircraft to come around the same area again. - photo courtesy of Alex Hizaka |
"This year was amazing," said Jaida Ohokannoak, zone commander for the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA).
Twenty-nine people showed up for the ground training in late June and 20 volunteered for air training.
The Hercules aircraft they were training on couldn't even hold all the eager participants with a space and seatbelt maximum of 16. Anyone who didn't get certified on the Hercules will have a chance to go on a Twin Otter aircraft in the future.
"We had not had as many people interested since 2004," said Ohokannoak, pointing to when the community organization began.
Most years between six to 10 people showed up.
Cambridge Bay trains spotters annually to be certified to military standards. Ground training takes three hours, consisting of a PowerPoint presentation and video showing proper scanning techniques, while air training involves a two-hour flight.
The organization formed to provide initial air support with a quicker response time at a lower cost, using local people who are familiar with the land.
Air training is a high-intensity scene almost out of a movie. Volunteers pile into the massive Hercules and rotate in and out of the spotter seat to look out the opening and scan the land as they fly over it.
"They are then tasked with calling the aircraft around to the object they have spotted," said Ohokannoak. "This involves getting the aircraft to turn left or right, giving the clock position the object is at, giving a general description of what they saw and where and continuously keeping an eye on the object and directing the pilots to this object."
The search and rescue technicians leading the flight were supposed to jump from the Hercules while the spotters were on board, but poor weather stopped that part of the training this year.
"It would have been an interesting and exciting exercise for everyone," said Ohokannoak.
She's excited now about a virtual trainer that arrived with the Hercules.
"We are currently looking for a place to permanently set it up," said Ohokannoak, "so I haven't tried it out yet. It's supposed to simulate a real flight, with objects to locate."
Adlair Aviation normally has a Twin Otter stationed in Cambridge Bay in the summer, but at the time of training it was undergoing maintenance. Training on the Twin Otter is similar to what is done on the Hercules, with volunteers peering out of windows at different height levels and trying to spot specific objects on the land, such as boats and small tents.
In the past, there have been searches in Cambridge Bay initiated by the RCMP and Nunavut's Emergency Management Organization.
"As this is a small community with only so may volunteers, the trained CASARA spotters have been called upon to go on one or two of these searches," said Ohokannoak.
She's pleased with the high turnout this year and said the community has shown a lot of heart.
