Photo courtesy of westwindaviation.ca
**UPDATE – West Wind is taking flight again after grounding its fleet last Wednesday. It was part of an administrative review of records and documentation to make sure all pilots were up to date on their certification with Transport Canada. West Wind VP of Business Development and Customer Relations Dennis Baranieski says much of the fleet was back in the air last week with the rest of the fleet scheduled to return to service within the next few days.
West Wind Aviation has grounded its fleet while it does an administrative review to make sure all pilot training records are up-to-date and conform to Transport Canada safety standards.
Vice President Dennis Baranieski says it is not a safety concern, but it is a self-initiated review, involving hundreds of records to make sure all training has been documented and meets the latest regulations.
He says the company has 75 pilots that must undergo rigorous and ongoing training on hundreds of different flight operations.
He says the review could take a couple of days, or possibly a week or longer. He adds the time frame is not a concern to the airline.
“It’s going to take as long as we think it’s going to take until we are comfortable the administrative side of this thing is sufficient for meeting our needs,” he said. “It might take a day or two, or it might take a week.”
While West Wind has grounded its flights, its subsidiary, Transwest Airlines, will make sure customer service is not disrupted.
West Wind is based out of Saskatoon and serves the province’s north. It has an unblemished 33-year record and is considered to be one of the safest air services in the country.