Mountie Support

I don't watch the news nearly as much as I used to. So I'm probably the last to hear that four RCMP members were shot and killed while on duty in Northern Alberta. I've always had a fair amount of respect for the RCMP, probably just the way I was raised. However, since I started flying that respect has grown.

Many of the communities in Northern Manitoba rely on policing services from their Band Constables and the Rural Detachment of the Thompson RCMP. Depending on the community, access from Thompson may be limited to aircraft only. So more than once I've been called out to fly Members into a community so they could respond to a situation. So far, all my trips have been into York Landing, only 73 miles Northwest of Thompson. Watching along side while they work, they've impressed me. They've always been very friendly and willing to help me out in my job, they keep the information flowing ("Here's what we're doing, we're going to need to be here for 2 more hours") and they always seem to know exactly how to handle the situation, speaking softly when a soft voice will help, and being stern with those who need it.

One such occasion was during my first week on-line flying the 207. I was to take three Members into York Landing and hold, I would possibly have a fourth passenger for the trip home. The flight there was uneventful, one member sat upfront with me and flew for a couple of minutes, they all seemed to get a kick out of that. Once we got there, I parked the plane and they allowed to me stay in their building there that has a couch and satelite TV. We were there for probably about five hours before we were ready to go. Coming home with us was a gentleman who had been into the sauce...well quite a bit, a confiscated shot gun, and a bag of a certain green substance. We got the extra passenger all strapped in the rear seat, and the Mounties got themselves seated and ready to go. I did a final quick walk around, took the chocks out, climb into the aircraft and sat down just in time to notice we were rolling backwards. My reaction was quick, however, not very well thought out. As I pressed down on the brakes, the airplane quickly went onto its tail and my face quickly went a nice crimson red. I hopped out of the plane, lifted up in the horizontal stab and put the plane back onto the nosewheel. After inspecting to see if there was any damage, I climbed back in, started the purring IO-520 up and, now a pile of nerves, headed back to Thompson. Upon arrival in Thompson I felt that I should try to redeem myself so I intended to grease the landing. Not gonna happen, I arrived on the ground in an anything but soft manner and proceded to bounce down the runway. After taxiing in and shuting down, the man in handcuffs in the back gave me a pleasent report on what he thought of my flying abilities. "You need more training, you suck"....ouch...

There are also a few communities that have their own RCMP detachments. The community of Shamattawa, some 226 miles due East of Thompson, is one of those places. The Members in Shamattawa (I think there is four) have the exciting task of meeting all the scheduled flights into town and searching passengers and their luggage/cargo to make sure no illegal substances are entering the community. So far I've watched them find cans of paint thinner hidden in hunting decoy ducks, or poured into an empty bleach container. There's almost always some story after a flight to Sham town. Recently, during a sched flight, one of my passengers who seemed to be just a little happy prior to boarding, became noticeably intoxicated during the hour and fifteen minute flight. He had asked earlier in the flight that I fly over the town before I land, which I agreed to do. As the flight went on, he kept on yelling up to ask me again, and each time he did it, he became harder and harder to understand. It was obvious by the time Shamattawa was in sight that he was gooned. I did fly over the town, but I highly doubt he remembers. Normally, I would've been a little worried about what this guy was going to be like once we hit the ground and how I should go about dealing with him. You never know what a drunk man could do if cargo forgot to load his groceries. However, at no point during this trip was I worried, knowing full well the members in Shamattawa would be awaiting my arrival, like they always are, and they could deal with him. Which is exactly what happened. As an aside note, they've also always been very good helping my unload bags, groceries, washing machines, lumber, or whatever else I might be bringing in.

It being true that I fly much more safely and in tune with the rules then I do while driving, I've also met a few Members outside of aviation. I've been pulled over alot, and while I have come across a couple of guys that seemed to be lacking in the personality department, most of them have been pretty nice and willing to shoot the shit while they wrote me a ticket (I've never really got mad for getting a ticket...I sped, they caught me, life goes on).

All that being said, I'm saddened by what happened yesterday in Northern Alberta. I certainly appreciate the fact the RCMP have been around when I needed them and they have my continued support.