SAR Cannon: 11-12 November 1999

The evening of November 11^th, 1999 began in a routine and familiar way at the Paterson Hangar. Being the second Thursday of the month, a Board of Directors meeting was scheduled. Although many had participated in Remembrance Day services, and some had the day off work, there was good attendance. Once the formal proceedings were concluded, a more informal session reconvened at "Tails n' Ales", the restaurant-pub at the Northern Flight Centre building, just a few doors down from the Paterson Hangar.

At about 11:00 p.m., as Unit Director Syd Turner was getting ready to head home, he met Keri Chase in the connecting hallway to the flying school. She was very concerned. The Cessna 172 piloted by her partner, Guy Cannon, had been expected in from Atikokan at 8:00 p.m but had not returned. She advised Syd that George Lister was with Guy. In the meantime, Keri had ascertained that an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal had been picked up by the search and rescue satellite system (SARSAT) west of Thunder Bay, and relayed to the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Trenton. Flight Service had also reported that commercial aircraft inbound to Thunder Bay had picked up an ELT signal in the same area. It would seem that this could indeed be Guy and George.

With this troubling news, Syd returned to the hangar with Wayne Corkum, and called Bruce Hansen and NOASARA President Susan Schultz to apprise them of the situation. Now taking the lead as Search Coordinator, Bruce contacted RCC Trenton, and confirmed that SARSAT hits had indeed been received west of Thunder Bay, and that a Hercules aircraft from 424 Squadron was now enroute to carry out an electronic search. Although RCC had not yet decided to task NOASARA's resources, the military asked if the unit could be on standby for the morning. Though it was now near midnight, Susan began calling spotters, and Bruce the pilots and navigators, assembling crews for a possible morning tasking. Robin Webster offered to assume Flight Operations or Search Coordinator duties in the morning, as required.

Though this scenario is what the unit trains for, it was both distressing and difficult to believe that friends were involved, somewhere out there in the night. Although crews were now on standby for the morning, there was an overwhelming desire to contribute something more. Dawn was still several hours away, and a check of the weather forecast promised lower ceilings and reduced visibility, putting the success of launching a visual search the next morning into question. Although the Hercules was expected in the area soon, it was uncertain if the darkness and cloud conditions would allow the Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs) to parachute into the site, if in fact the aircraft was located.

Locally, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was the lead agency and was maintaining contact with RCC. Knowing NOASARA had the equipment and capability to conduct ground ELT homing, Wayne and Syd suggested that a crew could be made available to the police. Bruce concurred, and an offer of assistance was made and accepted by the OPP around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning. Asked to assemble a team, Wayne called in Ed Tulin, Sr. and Carole Smith, who arrived at the hangar and were briefed on the situation. Maps and equipment were selected, and the best road access route to the ELT coordinates was determined. A jeep was chosen as the search vehicle and quickly fitted with roof-mounted direction-finding (DF) equipment. Carole drove, Wayne navigated, and Ed operated the DF unit.

After departing the airport, the crew checked in at the OPP Thunder Bay Detachment on Highway 11/17 west, located en route to the ELT coordinates. There, Staff Sergeant Andy Cordeiro, Sergeant Paul Michtics, and Constable Rob Andrews advised that the Hercules was now in the area. Having localized the ELT, the aircraft was beginning to drop flares over the position of the strongest signal. The Hercules crew had not, however, been able to make any visual contact with what was suspected to be the downed Cessna; nor had any voice communication been received from the missing plane, which was now over six hours overdue.

After completing a quick briefing with the officers, the NOASARA crew headed out, following Sgt. Michtics and PC Andrews in an OPP truck. At the point where the key secondary road led westward from the highway, the party stopped for a map check and heard the Hercules in the distance above the overcast. Although the aircraft sounded well to the south, a decision was soon made to continue westward to take the teams as close as possible to the last set of SARSAT coordinates. While en route, Carole was able to establish VHF radio contact with the Hercules, Rescue 305. Soon after, Ed picked up an ELT signal on the DF unit, and the crew began the homing procedure.

Travelling in tandem, the NOASARA and OPP vehicles proceeded along the unpaved road, stopping at intervals to confirm DF reception and coordinates, and to check in with Rescue 305. Although the sense of urgency to find the source of the signal was great, a deliberate pace and methodical approach was maintained in an effort to ensure the homing was true. At one point, the Hercules dropped additional flares at the ground crew's request to help correlate positions. Descending through the patchy overcast, however, the flares only produced a diffuse glow in the distance, but confirmed the southerly bearing indicated by the DF equipment.

Knowing from the maps and updated coordinates that they should soon be abeam the ELT signal, the NOASARA vehicle took the lead and proceeded at reduced speed. Finally, Ed signalled that the point had been reached and the vehicles pulled over. The crews made ready to enter the bush, and the hand-held DF equipment was assembled, with a spare receiver packed. Earlier, the OPP officers had called in a secondary unit, which now arrived and drove west and east for a short distance along the road, to see if any logging tracks or clearings were available in the direction of the signal. None were found. Taking a DF reading, Ed gave an initial heading and PC Andrews took a compass bearing. The party headed into the bush.

PC Andrews led the way with the compass, followed by Wayne, Ed, and Carole, with Sgt. Michtics bringing up the rear. Progress was slow, as the terrain was uphill and densely forested, with frequent blown-down trees. With the way lit by flashlights, working through the darkness was challenging, and Ed had quite a task keeping the mast and antennas of the hand-held equipment free of snags. Where a gap in the tree branches permitted, the DF antenna was re-opened, and the signal reception strength and direction checked.

Rescue 305 could be heard flying its racetrack pattern overhead, though out of view above the cloud. The Hercules Navigator, Captain Northrup, checked periodically on the ground party's progress. GPS coordinates were exchanged, which correlated well with the readings from the DF unit. Just before 5:00 a.m., the Hercules radioed that it had reached its "Bingo" fuel time and had to return to Thunder Bay. It was advised that a Labrador helicopter was en route to Thunder Bay from Trenton, but was not expected until after 6:00 a.m. Before Rescue 305 left the area, Captain Northrup was careful to confirm that the ground crew had alternate means of radio communication. Indeed, the OPP officers each had radios and were maintaining contact with their base. Carole advised that she would therefore be shutting off the VHF transceiver for an hour to conserve battery power. Rescue 305 then departed, and the ground team continued walking single file through the bush.

Suddenly, without warning, a voice called out, ahead and slightly to the right of the group. "Hello", it said. The ground party stopped and immediately fell silent, as PC Andrews called back into the darkness, "Hello. Hello! What's your name?" "Guy", came the answer. "Stay where you are -- we'll come to you", the officers answered. The party rapidly covered the remaining distance, with the officers leading the way. Then, in the light of the flashlights, Guy Cannon was suddenly standing there, shivering, cut, and holding his left arm. Parts of the aircraft were dimly visible in the bush just behind him. Guy advised that George hadn't made it.

Though a range of emotions must have prevailed from grief at George's death, to the miracle of finding Guy alive, the group focussed on the next set of tasks at hand. The officers attended to George and with Ed's assistance, confirmed his identity. The location and status of the crash site was radioed into base by OPP, with the news reaching the Hercules crew soon after they landed at Thunder Bay. Basic First Aid was administered to Guy. The fact that he had, at this point, survived almost ten hours alone in the bush and was still very calm and lucid was very encouraging. Remarkably, he never once complained about his own condition, about being cold or in pain, but instead thanked everyone for being there. A fire was quickly built and Guy was helped over to it, where efforts were made to keep him as warm and comfortable as possible. Things then became quieter, with the group talking softly and feeding the fire, as they waited for daylight and the arrival of the Labrador helicopter.

After a couple of hours the sky began to lighten, showing a low ceiling and mist just above the treetops. Though visibility was limited, it became evident that the site was located on high ground that sloped downward on all sides. The wreckage of the aircraft was also now obvious, with the tail cone and empennage lodged approximately thirty feet up in a tree; followed by the entire wing on the ground beyond it; and then the remains of the cabin section, tilted up on its right side. George's body was still in the cabin, strapped into his seat. He had been wearing his much-beloved CASARA jacket.

Observing the weather, there was some quiet discussion regarding the likelihood of the helicopter being able to make it into the site, especially considering the high terrain. It was well after 8:00 a.m. and no one could be raised on the radio. Then, after some time, the sound of rotors could be heard approaching from the north, and radio contact was made with Rescue 75 -- the 424 Squadron Labrador was on its way. The helicopter crew reported spotting the ground party's vehicles on the road, and advised that they were heading southward toward the coordinates. The ground party first saw the Labrador's red beacon, then the nose of the machine, moving slowly uphill, following the ground contours. To make the site more conspicuous, dry evergreen was placed on the fire to increase the height of the orange flame, and PC Andrews waved his orange jacket. Rescue 75 then sighted the party, but due to the low ceiling hovered below and to the north, just above the treetops. Two SAR Techs were lowered on the hoist and met by Wayne and PC Andrews, who guided them up to the crash site.

The SAR Techs took charge of the scene, with Master Corporal Martel immediately assessing Guy's condition, and Sergeant Darbyson deactivating the plane's ELT and attending to George's body. The NOASARA crew helped MCpl Martel move Guy downhill to the hovering Labrador, where he was secured in a Stokes litter and hoisted slowly through the tree branches, joining MCpl Martel on board. Meanwhile, the OPP officers assisted with removing George's body from the airplane. At that point, the weather conditions had improved to the extent that Rescue 75 could move uphill and hover closer to the site. George's body was also hoisted up on a litter, followed by Sgt. Darbyson. Rescue 75 then began its slow and careful trip back to Thunder Bay.

The crash site was suddenly quiet again; though a decidedly different, and somewhat lighter mood now prevailed. The OPP relayed a message to Susan Schultz, indicating that the NOASARA crew was on its way out of the bush. After gathering up equipment and belongings, PC Andrews again led the way with the compass, although it was a much easier trip out, being downhill and in the daylight. The route was flagged on the way down, to assist the various investigators and other officials who would need to hike in later in the day. Sgt. Michtics stayed behind to secure the scene. The NOASARA crew returned to their vehicle and drove the 60 kilometres back to the airport.

On returning to the Paterson Hangar around 11:00 a.m., the ground crew were met by several members, including Syd, Robin, Bruce, and Susan and Rick Schultz, many of whom had been up for most of the night. Robin and Bruce had already inquired into the availability of counselling services, and a group meeting was organized for all the membership that night, to discuss together what had happened.

In all, it was a very bitter-sweet experience for the unit. The tragedy and shock of losing of George Lister was sharply contrasted with the miraculous survival of Guy Cannon, and NOASARA's participation in the successful search and rescue operation. Our members in the field that night were also able to witness first hand the professionalism of both the Ontario Provincial Police and the crews from 424 Squadron, as they demonstrated very tangibly their motto, "That Others May Live".

During his time with the unit, George Lister gave generously of his expertise and enthusiasm. He demonstrated through his work as Training Officer that what we do is both worthwhile and important, and as such, worth doing well. In his honour we are committed to turning this tragic event into a learning experience, enhancing our training, procedures, and equipment to ensure we are even more capable to serve in the future.