Many Iqaluit residents were excited in June to see Aermacchi fighter jets landing on their stopover on the way from Greenland to their Canadian tour.
While this was a routine visit, sometimes international and domestic aircraft are forced to make emergency landings in Nunavut's capital. Iqaluit Airport services director Pierre Payette said these urgent situations are more common in the extreme cold of winter and are categorized as mechanical issues or a medical emergency.
For mechanical emergency landings, it is only the pilot of the aircraft that makes the decision to ground the aircraft and declare an emergency, which is then communicated to the receiving airport.
“Like all airports, we have an emergency response plan,” Payette explained. “Not all air craft are designed exactly the same... and each have alert systems specific to the airport.
“We’re required by Transport Canada to have a plan and test this plan... so we have a table-top execution annually... with key agency participants.”
In Iqaluit, this means the RCMP, emergency medical services and the city's fire department, as well as a representative from the air carriers, Frobisher Bay Touch Down Services, Canadian Border Services Agency and NAV Canada.
“The city fire department is a support to our own fire department,” said Payette.
Iqaluit’s airport has its own special fire trucks and uses foam and dry chemicals in addition to water to extinguish a metal or “Class D” fire — equipment that the city doesn’t have.
“We regroup around the table,” Payette continued, "and open a manual... and we just go through the exercise to make sure that everyone is prepared as a refresher in case of emergency... so, [in theory] we all deploy, and we standby in case something happens... we’re in a state of readiness.”
For medical emergencies, if a passenger en route experiences acute symptoms, such as a heart attack, the decision is made to divert. There is usually a lag time of notice to Iqaluit, which is on the list for international carriers for emergency medical stops because of proximity to a hospital, and medical staff are sent to go onboard after it lands.
Newer aircraft actually plan routes with multiple airports like Iqaluit's on the flight path in case there is a diversion, or much more often, in the case that the carrier wants to test the emergency landing of an aircraft, for which staff are paid overtime in Iqaluit to standby for a duration of four hours.
“We handle them all the same,” Payette remarked. “We have not had a crash. If an aircraft were to crash... and once the crash bell is activated (an alarm bell that deploys in the fire hall), we have to be on the runway within one minute. Usually we do 30 secs.”
Payette estimates that Iqaluit Airport experiences an international carrier mechanical failure twice a year, and local carriers six, “mostly in the winter. It’s been quiet this year,” he added. He also pointed out that the major carrier at Iqaluit Airport, Canadian North, is very cautious in its approach.
“They don’t mess around. They adhere to all safety protocols and standards meticulously,” he said.
