Air Saguenay

Air Saguenay was a regional airline based in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada (now Saguenay, Quebec, Canada).[3]

Air Saguenay
An Air Saguenay DHC-2 Beaver
Founded1960
Ceased operationsNovember 2019
AOC #1230[1]
Operating bases
Fleet size21[2]
HeadquartersJonquière, Quebec, Canada
Key people
  • Peter Schoch, owner
  • Jean-Claude Tremblay, owner
Websitewww.airsaguenay.com

History

In the early 1960s Peter Schoch, mink breeder, bought Saguenay Air Service, a carrier based at Kenogami Lake, owned by Saguenay Aero Club and used to train pilots. Schoch decided to open a new seaplane base, Lac Sébastien Water Aerodrome at St-David de Falardeau, Lake Sebastien, to offer a better service to companies like Alcan or Price Brothers, fishermen, hunters and services for forest fire patrol. The company expanded and merged in 1969[4] with Gagnon Air Service to form a new company, Air Saguenay.

In 1980, Jean-Claude Tremblay became the new owner, pushing the company one step further with his personalized approach and the quality of his services. A second seaplane base, Chutes-des-Passes/Lac Margane Water Aerodrome was opened at Chute-des-Passes, now Passes-Dangereuses, in 1982. It was a strategic location for accessing new territories for fishing and moose hunting and to better position the company towards the north. 1984 was a major year for the expansion of Air Saguenay. It purchased Air Caribou in Fermont and also purchased Club Chambeaux outfitters which gave the company access to great fishing and caribou hunting territory in Northern Quebec. In 1986, the growth continued with the addition of a new seaplane base in Schefferville. Tremblay also purchased many other small bush operators in the 1990s, to reinforce the position of his company throughout Northern Quebec.

Since 1998, the carrier expanded again with the purchase of Expeditair in 1999,[5] Grand Island Aviation in 2000,[6] Aéro Golfe in 2001,[7] Labrador Air Safari in 2006[8] and Derap Aviation in 2011,[9] both companies located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River and in 2006 acquired Ashuanipi Aviation.[10] Air Saguenay has now become, under Jean-Claude Tremblay and his son Jean Tremblay, an important bush carrier in Eastern Canada.[11]

Air Saguenay also operated Lac Pau (Caniapiscau) Water Aerodrome and Sept-Îles/Lac Rapides Water Aerodrome.[12]

In November 2019, facing several challenges, notably the end of caribou hunting in Quebec and a lawsuit following the July accident, Air Saguenay ceased operations.[13]

Fleet

As of January 2020 Transport Canada had 21 aircraft listed:[14][2]

Air Saguenay fleet
AircraftNo. of aircraft
TC[2]		Variants
Cessna 185 Skywagon3185E SkywagonUp to six seats
Cessna 2061Cessna U206The U206F with up to six seats
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver11Mk 1Up to six passengers
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter69 - 10 passengers

In addition Transport Canada lists two de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and two de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter with cancelled certificates.[15][16][17][18]

Accidents and incidents
  • On 16 July 2010, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, registration C-GAXL,[19] crashed into a wooded mountainside and caught fire about 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) west southwest of Lake Péribonka, Quebec, after encountering adverse weather conditions seven minutes into the flight. Of the six people on board, the pilot and three passengers were killed.[20][21][22]
  • On 23 August 2015, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, registration C-FKRJ,[23] crashed into a wooded mountainside and caught fire near Les Bergeronnes, Quebec, shortly after taking off from Long Lake, about 10 NM (19 km; 12 mi) north of Tadoussac, on a sightseeing flight. All people on board, the pilot and six passengers, were killed.[24][25][26]
  • On 15 July 2019, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane crashed into a Labrador Lake late Monday night. The aircraft was on flight path from a fishing lodge near Crossroads Lake, near the Quebec border, to a remote camp on Mistastin Lake in northern Labrador. On board were seven people, four of them are confirmed dead including the pilot and the fate of the remaining three is unclear as they are missing. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined however officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have been called in. All seven people died and the crash forced the closure of the airline.[27][28][29][3]
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References
  1. Transport Canada (30 August 2019), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  2. "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Air Saguenay". Transport Canada. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  3. Quebec’s Air Saguenay closing down after plane crash lawsuit, business woes
  4. "Gagnon Air Service". Airline History. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  5. "Expeditair". Airline History. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  6. "Grand Island Aviation". Airline History. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  7. "Aéro Golfe". Airline History. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  8. "Labrador Air Service". Airline History. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  9. "Deraps Aviation". Airline History. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  10. "Ashuanipi Aviation". Airline History. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. Air Saguenay website
  12. Nav Canada's Water Aerodrome Supplement. Effective 0901Z 26 March 2020 to 0901Z 22 April 2021.
  13. "Quebec's Air Saguenay closing down after plane crash lawsuit, business woes". National Post. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  14. Charter in general
  15. Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-2 Beaver C-FRZL
  16. Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-2 Beaver C-GPUO
  17. Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-3 Otter C-GLFL
  18. Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details DHC-3 Otter C-GUTQ
  19. "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register (C-GAXL)". Transport Canada.
  20. "Aviation Investigation Report A10Q0111". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  21. "Pilot error blamed for 2010 Quebec plane crash". CBC News. CBC/Radio-Canada. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  22. CADORS report for Air Saguenay (C-GAXL)
  23. "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register (C-FKRJ)". Transport Canada.
  24. "Float plane crash near Tadoussac, Que., kills 6". CBC News. CBC/Radio-Canada. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  25. "Four Britons among six killed in plane crash on Quebec's North Shore". Montreal Gazette. Postmedia Network. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  26. CADORS report for Air Saguenay (C-FKRJ)
  27. Fourth body recovered from site of Labrador plane crash, three still missing
  28. Search for Air Saguenay crash focuses on discovery of new debris
  29. Canadian Armed Forces end search for Air Saguenay crash victims
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