'I've never given a pilot heck for turning around': Simpson Air owner talks safety in wake of crash

While last week's crash isn't Simpson Air's first, the airline boasts a clean safety record, according to publicly available documents.

• 3 dead after plane crash near Fort Simpson, N.W.T., 2 survivors treated

The airline has had just two other accidents in its 37-year history.

In 1988, one of the company's medevac planes crashed near the Fort Simpson airport, resulting in the death of all three people two pilots and a nurse on board.

On Jan. 28, 2008, the engine on a Cessna U206G lost power, forcing the pilot to crash land in a clearing near Fort Simpson. The pilot and two passengers were rescued about an hour after the accident, according to documents from the Transportation Safety Board. Everybody walked away without injuries.

Plane still in lake

The Cessna 206 that crashed last week,taking the lives of three people on board, was coming in for a landing on Little Doctor Lake.

• 3 victims of plane crash near Fort Simpson, N.W.T., identified

Geoffrey Dean, 33, of Castor, Alta., andStewart and JeanEdelman, both 72, of Saskatoon, died in the crash. Two others Dean's wifeand the pilot survived.

The Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the crash is still in the early stages and the plane remains underwater.

Alex Fournier with the TSB said a team is still working on bringing the plane out of the lake, and it could be done by the end of the day.

Weather getting 'weird'

Gerrit Vermeer, the lead investigator into the crash,said he's interested in speaking to pilots in the area about how the Mackenzie Mountains affect weather patterns in the area.

Ted Grant, owner of Simpson Air, says indeed, weather in the area over the past few years has gotten "weird."

"Sometimes out in the mountains the wind's coming from two different directions, which has happened quite often," said Grant.

He said that can make landing difficult, especially for pilots in float planes. In fact, he said his pilots have had to bypass Little Doctor Lake several times this summer because the weather has been too rough.

• Increasingly wild weather could lead to rising air travel costs

Grant said all of his pilots get safety training, including yearly training on the type of aircraft each pilot is flying. They also have safety meetings, talk about weather patterns, and enforce the philosophy of being careful.

"I've never given a pilot heck for turning around and coming back," he said. "If it's beyond their capabilities or the weather is no good, just turn around and come back. We can do it another day."

Simpson Air's planes had been grounded since the crash, but Grant said he started flying again Tuesday and other pilots will start this week, if the weather cooperates.