Fond-du-Lac Dene Nation Chief Louie Mercredi says renovations to the community’s airport runway are an urgent priority.
He says the current runway is simply too small to accommodate the current air traffic in and out of Fond du Lac.
The remote nature of the community requires almost all goods to be flown in including food, medical supplies and housing materials.
Chief Mercredi also says he is concerned Fond du Lac does not have enough basic aviation safety tools leaving it open to the possibility of another major accident as occurred last December when a plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
The accident led to the death of one person and serious injuries to several others.
“They allow these big airplanes to land in Fond-du-Lac and one of them crashed last year,” Chief Mercredi says. “So, we are hoping these governments speed up things and make this happen soon. They haven’t learned from the crash last year. My biggest fear is when it’s going to happen again.”
A proposal for runway expansion has been submitted to the federal government and the province says if Ottawa gives the green light on the project, it will kick in 50 per cent of the cost.
Mercredi says he hopes the construction of a new runway happens sooner rather than later to ensure the greater safety of the 28,000 people that fly in-and-out of Fond du Lac annually.
Last month, the province quoted the cost of a runway expansion will be at least $25 million.
“We sent in our proposal and the province is fully aware of that,” Mercredi says. “Once the feds approve their portion of the money, then the province is going to do the other (portion) for the expansion and widening.”
Last December, an ATR-42 plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Fond-du-Lac airport.
The aircraft was carrying 22 passengers and three crew members.
A male passenger succumbed to sustained injuries two weeks after the crash.
A preliminary investigation has shown the airplane had ice on its wings at take-off, which may have made it difficult to gain altitude.
The aircraft eventually collided with trees and came to rest one mile west of the runway.
Weather reports for pilots flying in and out of Fond-du-Lac had come from the Stony Rapids airport, which is 80 kilometers to the east.
Since the crash, a weather reporting station has been installed at the Fond-du-Lac airport.
The airport is still not equipped with de-icing equipment, claims Chief Mercredi, although ‘type 1’ deicing fluid is now available to pilots departing Fond-du-Lac airport.
(PHOTO: Fond du Lac Airport runway. Photo courtesy of Cas Mrozowski.)