Kenn Borek Air

Kenn Borek Air is an airline based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It operates regional passenger and cargo services, contract operations in the Arctic and Antarctic and aircraft leasing. Its main base is at Calgary International Airport.[6] It charters aircraft for scientific expeditions, oil exploration, etc., and operates air ambulance services.

Kenn Borek Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
4K KBA BOREK AIR[1]
Founded1970
AOC #Canada: 2273[2]
United States: WJKF060F[3]
HubsCalgary International Airport
Fleet size38[4]
Destinations5[5] (as Aklak Air)
Parent companyKenn Borek Air Ltd.
HeadquartersCalgary, Alberta
Key peopleBrian Crocker, Operations Manager
Wallace Dobchuk, Chief Pilot
Websitewww.borekair.com

History

The airline began operations in 1970 with a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter providing air support for oil exploration activities in the Canadian Arctic. The company has been operating in Antarctica since 1985.[7]

On 26 April 2001, Kenn Borek Air used a DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft to rescue Dr. Ron Shemenski from the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.[7][8][9][10] This was the first ever rescue from the South Pole during polar winter.[11] To achieve the range necessary for this flight, the Twin Otter was equipped with a special ferry tank.

In 2009, the company was commissioned to recover a crashed aircraft in the Antarctic, and employees spent 25 days in a makeshift camp to complete the project.[7]

The airline was used by the BBC during the filming of the documentary Frozen Planet (2011), which was narrated by David Attenborough, and one of its planes is seen in portions of the footage.

In June 2016 the company assisted in removing two sick workers from Antarctica during the polar winter. Two Twin Otter aircraft were used and successfully completed the mission.[12] The crew, Capt. Wally Dobchuk, first officer Sebastian Trudel and maintenance engineer Michael McCrae were honoured for their heroism by Aviation Week.[13]

Operations

Kenn Borek Air offers a full service overhaul maintenance hangar in Calgary with routine maintenance being completed wherever the aircraft is located.

Destinations
Kenn Borek Air - King Air 200 C-FEKB

As of September 2019 Kenn Borek operates scheduled services to several communities in the Northwest Territories as Aklak Air:[5]

Fleet
Basler BT-67 at Williams Field, Antarctica
Loading at Cambridge Bay

As of December 2019, Kenn Borek Air has the following aircraft registered with Transport Canada.[4]

Kenn Borek Air
AircraftNo. of aircraftVariantsNotes
Beechcraft 190031900D
Beechcraft Super King Air4Model B200, Model B200GT
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter21DHC-6 Series 100, DHC-6 Series 300
Douglas DC-39DC-3C, DC-3A-S1C3G, DC3C-S4C4GThree are piston engine and six are Basler BT-67 turboprops
Viking Air DHC-61Series 400

The Transport Canada list includes a DHC-6 Twin Otter[14] both with cancelled certificates.

Accidents and incidents
  • On 28 February 1977, Douglas C-47A C-FIQR crashed near Saglone, Quebec.[15]
  • On 18 September 1978, Douglas C-47A C-FCRW was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Komakuk Airport, Northwest Territories.[16]
  • On 7 May 1982, Douglas C-47A C-FQHF overran the runway at Calgary International Airport following an aborted take-off.[17] The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[18]
  • On 20 December 2007, Basler BT-67 C-FMKB was substantially damaged in a take-off accident at Mount Patterson, Antarctica when the take-off was attempted with insufficient speed for flight. Of the 12 people on board, only the co-pilot suffered minor injuries. Although both sets of undercarriage collapsed and the port wing was damaged, the aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.[8][19][20]
  • On 25 October 2010, Beechcraft King Air C-FAFD en route from Edmonton City Centre to Kirby Lake (CFR4), crashed 1.5 NM southeast of Kirby Lake (55 20.5N / 110 36.2W). One of the ten occupants on board was killed, four were seriously injured.[21]
  • On 4 November 2010, a hangar fire at Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport destroyed three aircraft owned by Kenn Borek Air and operated by Aklak Air. They were de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter C-GZVH, Beechcraft King Air C-GHOC and Beechcraft 99 C-FKBK.[22]
  • On 23 January 2013, an ELT activated in Antarctica,[23] in the Queen Alexandra Range.[24] On board C-GKBC (c/n:650), the DHC-6 Twin Otter skiplane were 3 Canadians.[25] The plane had been en route from the South Pole's Amundsen–Scott US station to Terra Nova Bay's Zucchelli Italian station, operating under the auspices of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development[7][8][25][26] The aircraft was found on 25 January 2013. It had impacted Mount Elizabeth at the 13,000-foot level. The New Zealand helicopter rescue team which spotted the wreckage reported that the accident was not survivable.[27]

References
  1. TP143 - Air Traffic Designators
  2. Transport Canada (2019-09-05), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  3. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Kenn Borek Air". Transport Canada. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  5. Aklak Air Schedule
  6. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 3 April 2007. p. 100.
  7. Canadian Press (23 January 2013). "Bad weather hampers search for 3 Canadians on plane missing in Antarctica". Global News. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. CTV News (23 January 2013). "Kenn Borek plane carrying three Canadians missing in Antarctica". CTV. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  9. Bob Antol (April 2001). "The Rescue of Dr. Ron Shemenski from the South Pole". Bob Antol's Polar Journals. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  10. "Doctor rescued from Antarctica safely in Chile". New Zealand Herald. 27 April 2001. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  11. TRANSCRIPT (26 April 2001). "Plane With Dr. Shemenski Arrives in Chile". CNN. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  12. "Kenn Borek rescue mission evacuates pair to Chile from South Pole". CBC News. 22 June 2016.
  13. Jen DiMascio (3 March 2017). "Kenn Borek Air Crew Wins 2017 Laureate for Heroism". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  14. Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-6, C-GKBC, Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-6, C-GZVH
  15. "C-FIQR Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  16. "C-FCRW Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  17. Flight International, 31 July 1982, p267 Retrieved on 23 July 2010.
  18. "C-FQHF Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  19. "C-FMKB Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  20. "ANC08TA028". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  21. "Northern Alta. plane crash kills 1". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  22. "Hull-loss description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  23. "Aircraft Missing in Antarctica". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  24. Radio-Canada (23 January 2013). "Un avion transportant trois Canadiens est disparu en Antarctique" (in French). Station Radio-Canada. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  25. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 C-GKBC Mount Elizabeth". Aviation Safety Network. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  26. Associated Press (23 January 2013). "Flight carrying 3 Canadians missing in Antarctica". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  27. CTV News (26 January 2013). "Wreckage of missing plane found, crash deemed 'not survivable'". CTV News. Retrieved 26 January 2013.

Further reading
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