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CBC
14-07-2025
- General
- CBC
Transport Canada delays threaten to derail dreams of pilot trainee from Liard First Nation
An Indigenous woman working to become a pilot has been grounded due to a delay in getting her medical certification, and the impending closure of her flight school in Faro, Yukon. Twenty-five-year-old Amber Jensen, from Liard First Nation, is taking part in a special initiative out of the Northerners Taking Flight School. It's a partnership between Alkan Air, Ross River Dena Council and the Liard First Nation. The goal is to train Indigenous youth from the Yukon to become commercial pilots. Jensen said she has been waiting nearly 10 months for a medical certificate from Transport Canada, which is required to fly solo. The longer it takes for that certificate to arrive, the less likely it is she will be able to complete her training. The flight school she attends is slated to close at the end of November when its contract with the federal government expires. 'I want to be free like the eagles' Jensen said when her First Nation put out the call for the flight school, she jumped at the opportunity. "I just want to be free like the eagles, free like my cousins, my clan, the crow clan," said Jensen. She's done most of her training at the Faro airport, a small airstrip tucked between forest and mountains. The program secured a special license with Transport Canada to operate the flight school there temporarily. "I try to fly every day, as much as I can, as much as the weather permits," Jensen said. Nicolas Doustaly, Jensen's flight instructor, said he's been very impressed by her. "Amber is very smart," he said. "She's a lion in the left seat. She's very strong — and she will get it." Jensen grew up in Lower Post and Watson Lake, and previously worked in the mining industry. She said learning to fly has been more technical than she expected. "There's a lot of math. I thought you just take off, go, and land," she said. "But there's so much more — flight planning, safety, everything." Doustaly said she can be hard on herself, but that "it's been inspiring to watch her take on the challenge." Jensen's father, James Jensen, said he's delighted to watch her fly. "She took us out to Drury Lake and back," he said. "It was a hard landing because of the wind. But other than that, it was good. I'm proud — very proud of her." Delays with the medical certificate To get a commercial pilot licence in Canada, students must complete 200 hours of flight time — 100 with an instructor, and 100 solo. But to fly solo, pilots need a valid Transport Canada medical certificate. Jensen applied for hers in October 2024. Almost 10 months later, she's still waiting. "They asked for something, then two months later, they ask for something else," Doustaly said. "And so on, and so on." She thinks it may have to do with drug and alcohol addiction in her late teens and early 20s. Jensen said the process has included multiple assessments and tests. "They told me I need a drug and alcohol test, to talk to a psychiatrist that specializes in addictions, provide inpatient or outpatient reports from a treatment centre — and any record of criminal history involving drugs," she said. But Jensen said she's never been charged with a drug offence and has not attended a treatment centre. "The only thing I've done is a five-day trauma wellness program for First Nations in Prince George." Jensen said she quit drinking on March 6, 2023. "Since sobering up, a lot of amazing things have happened," she said. "I don't think I would have been able to do this if I was still in active addiction." She said all of Transport Canada's tests have cost her between $2,000 and $3,000 so far. "I'm feeling frustrated," she said. "It's causing just a tiny bit of stress because I'm on a time limit." The longer they delay, the less time I have to get my Commercial Pilots License done." Lance Appleford, chief flight instructor for the program, said students with a history of addiction or mental health diagnoses often face more scrutiny from Transport Canada. "If there's any hint of a past involving drugs or alcohol, they tend to really back off and require a lot of in-depth research into their background," Appleford said. He said Jensen was honest on her medical application, and now that could be costing her. "You have to be truthful," he said. "And unfortunately, sometimes it totally wrecks your chances of getting your medical certificate." Transport Canada did not comment on Jensen's case directly, but in a statement said its aviation medical certification program is "designed to ensure that aircrew are medically fit to prevent aircraft accidents that can be caused by medically related human factors." "Transport Canada's licensing process for pilots is conducted without any form of discrimination or mistreatment, and safety will always remain the central focus throughout the entire process." Flight school unlikely to be renewed after November The current flight school contract in Faro is also issued by Transport Canada. That contract expires at the end of November and Appleford said it's unlikely it will be renewed. When Jensen's medical is approved, she could potentially complete the program in Whitehorse — but that would require new funding. "I don't know if they are going to give more," Doustaly said, referencing the $140,000 Liard First Nation has put toward Amber and the program so far. He said flight school in Whitehorse would be cheaper, but moving there would come with additional costs. Doustaly said the set-back is about more than the loss of Amber's time. "The industry is going to lose a good pilot if she's not succeeding," he said. For Jensen, she's not sure what comes next, but she expects it'll involve flying.
CTV News
12-07-2025
- CTV News
Second pilot identified in fatal Manitoba mid-air crash
Savanna May Royes has been identified as the second pilot that died in a mid-air crash near Steinbach, Man. on July 8, 2025. (GoFundMe) The second pilot in a fatal mid-air crash in Manitoba has been identified. CTV News has confirmed that Savanna May Royes from Ontario was flying the other plane when it was involved in the crash near Steinbach earlier this week. A GoFundMe says Savanna was 20 years old, and her father was a career helicopter pilot. The second pilot had been identified as Sreehari Sukesh of India, according to the Consulate General of India in Toronto. The crash took place Tuesday near Steinbach, just south of the runway at Harv's Air, a flight school. Harv's Air owner Adam Penner said Tuesday the pilots were practicing routine takeoffs and landings at the time of the collision. The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. -With files from CTV's Kristen Yu and Jeff Keele.
Reuters
24-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Key Senate Democrats oppose Trump nominee to head Federal Aviation Administration
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Senior Democrats on the Senate committee overseeing aviation said Tuesday they will oppose the nomination of Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is the ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, said they will vote against Bedford's nomination when the committee votes Wednesday. Both cited Bedford's refusal to commit to uphold the 1,500-hour training rule for co-pilots. Earlier this month, Bedford declined to commit to not changing the flight training rule. In 2022, Bedford criticized the FAA's rejection of Republic's petition for allowing only 750 hours of flight experience instead of 1,500 hours. "I would never do anything to compromise safety as administrator," Bedford said earlier this month. A spokesperson for Bedford did not immediately comment. Calls to modernize the nation's air traffic control system intensified after a mid-air collision on January 29 between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab jet near Washington Reagan National Airport. All 67 people aboard the aircraft died. The regulations to boost flight hours for co-pilots stemmed in part from the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in upstate New York that killed 50 people. It was the last major U.S. fatal passenger airline crash before the mid-air collision in January. Bedford has sharply criticized the FAA as facing serious leadership, trust and culture issues and has vowed to maintain tough oversight of Boeing(BA.N), opens new tab. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, who was unanimously confirmed to a five-year term in October 2023, stepped down on Jan. 20 when Trump took office. The Trump administration wants at least $20 billion to overhaul air traffic control. One-quarter of all FAA facilities are 50 years old or older and aging systems have repeatedly sparked delays. A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and many controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.
CBC
24-06-2025
- CBC
Manitoba flight school now barred from training pilots put students in 'significant danger': whistleblower
A Manitoba flight school was banned from training pilots "in the interest of public safety," Transport Canada says, more than a year after a former instructor came forward with allegations the school failed to follow aviation rules and put students in "significant danger." Transport Canada cancelled the flight training unit operator certificate of Gimli-based LS Airways Flight Academy on Nov. 19, 2024. The federal government department said in an email to CBC News that the certificate cancellation was a "serious action," and is only taken when oversight and monetary penalties do not lead to compliance. Wayne Liu said he and several other students alerted authorities about safety concerns at the school. They decided to report the school to Transport Canada in September 2023, he said. "I really hope this [doesn't] happen again to other students," Liu said about why he spoke up. WATCH | Gimli flight school put students in danger, whistleblower claims in lawsuit: Lawsuits allege Manitoba flight school endangered students 7 minutes ago Duration 2:39 His lawsuit is one of four filed against the school in the past year alleging that the Gimli flight school faked logs of flying hours, told students to fly with jerry cans of gasoline on board, altered maintenance records and exploited students. The school's owner, Noura Gharib, declined to be interviewed. She said in a phone call with CBC she intends to fight the revocation. 'So regretful': student Liu first enrolled at the school to convert a U.S. flight instructor licence into a Canadian one, and taught at LS Airways for about a month in 2023 after passing a flight test. But Liu says he should never have gotten the instructor rating, because LS Airways did not give him the number of flight hours needed to qualify for the certification in Canada. The owner "never put me on the flight schedule," Liu said. "I [told] her … even though I have some experience, we still need to practise and meet requirements for the exam. Until two or three days before the flight test, she still never flew with me and [faked the] hours on the PTR." "PTR" stands for pilot training record, a logbook required to obtain pilot permits and ratings. I was telling myself, 'Hey, I shouldn't do this.' - Wayne Liu, former LS Airways flight instructor A pilot must complete a minimum of 30 hours of dual flight instruction (training where a certified instructor is in the aircraft) for a Class 4 instructor rating, among other requirements. Applicants receive some credits if they previously held that rating — through foreign accreditation, for example. In lawsuit documents filed on May 23, 2025, Liu alleges that Gharib instructed him to record false numbers on the training record. He said he needed 15 flight hours to qualify for the licence, but got just over one hour with a student — not a certified instructor. "I was telling myself, 'Hey, I shouldn't do this,'" he said. "I accepted her wrongful instruction.… I was so regretful I did those wrong things." Company fined more than $46K Liu, from Taiwan, trained as a pilot in the U.S. and taught at a flight school in Georgia before coming to Canada, planning to eventually settle in the country. He was under a lot of stress to get his Canadian instructor's licence because he wanted to get a job in aviation and then bring his family to live with him, he said. Liu said that after he came forward, government officials told him his instructor rating was no longer valid and that he had to go to a different flight school to get it back. The school "took all my savings," he said. The lawsuit says LS Airways wrongfully accepted $15,495.54 in tuition payments. "I was expecting like, hey, just follow the rules, go to a flight school, get my instructor rating … so I can get more hours, then moving on to maybe charters." Liu now wants the money he paid for tuition at LS Airways back, so he can reapply for the training he needs to become an instructor in Canada. "Because of this school, I feel so depressed," he said. "It's like I couldn't complete my plan — wasted money and time here." A public post from Sept. 9 on Transport Canada's website shows the flight school — identified as 10113158 Manitoba Ltd., its business registry number — was fined $28,500 for three counts of violating Canada's aviation regulations. The violations are related to transporting people or cargo without being certified to do so, operating an aircraft without proper registration and failing to meet personnel record requirements. The charges stemmed from incidents between July and August of 2023, according to a decision issued by Transport Canada last May, which mentions the school didn't keep proper records for Liu as an assigned flight instructor. The fines were outstanding as of Jan. 25, and the school had not filed for a review, federal court documents say. The unauthorized transport service violation is related to operations from Gimli to Island Lake and Little Grand Rapids in eastern Manitoba on July 24, 2023. This month, Transport Canada made two more violations public. In March 2024, the company let an aircraft take off when it had not been maintained in accordance with an approved maintenance schedule, or in accordance with "airworthiness limitations," according to Transport Canada. The two violations resulted in $18,000 in additional fines. In his lawsuit, Liu alleges the school required students to keep "incorrect maintenance paperwork" that left out operational time used to calculate oil changes. Liu's lawsuit also alleges LS Airways directed students to travel to a flight test in Lindsay, Ont., with five 20-litre jerry cans of fuel in the cabin to avoid charges at the Lindsay airport. The lawsuit calls that a "serious safety violation" that exposed students to "significant danger." No statement of defence has been filed, and the allegations haven't been tested in court. Lawsuits filed by 3 other students LS Airways advertised itself as a "designated learning institution-registered Canadian flight school" on its now-unavailable website. The designated learning institution, or DLI, status allows Canadian schools to host international students. A spokesperson for the provincial government, which manages designated learning institutions in Manitoba, said in an email the province revoked LS Airways' DLI status on March 18, 2024, following an investigation launched in January of that year. The spokesperson said the investigation found there had been an unreported change in ownership. Since the designation is non-transferable between owners, the school's DLI status was revoked. The ownership change had happened "several years earlier," the provincial spokesperson said. LS Airways applied for a new DLI status, but the application is presently paused, according to the spokesperson. "The department is prepared to resume its review once LS Airways has resolved any and all outstanding items with Transport Canada," the spokesperson said. The Canadian Civil Aircraft Register shows two Cessnas that once belonged to LS Airways were no longer owned by the school as of June. A lawsuit filed in December by another former LS Airways student claims he entered an agreement with Gharib to teach at the school once he got his instructor rating there. His suit alleges that Gharib unilaterally dismissed him after he complained about the services the school provided. The statement of claim also alleges, among other things, that Gharib falsified training records with another instructor who was not Liu. In a statement of defence, Gharib denied all allegations in the December lawsuit. Another lawsuit was filed on Feb. 20 by a different student, who claims she was employed as a part-time dispatcher at the school and was also unjustly dismissed after complaining. The student alleges she was not allowed to fly, despite paying $1,600 in fees. She claims she also had to pay for fuel out-of-pocket twice and wasn't reimbursed, and that she didn't get her money back after paying fees for a flight test she didn't complete. The student also said she was also never given a pilot training record, despite numerous requests. In another statement of defence, Gharib denied all the allegations in the February lawsuit, saying the student was never employed by the school. Gharib countersued the student for defamation, saying in court documents the student failed multiple flight tests and disclosed a "history of dangerous manoeuvres" at a previous school. And another lawsuit, filed by a student from Thailand on April 24, said that flight instructors at the school lacked valid teaching licences and had obtained them through processes "not evidently in compliance with" regulations. The school denied the allegation in a statement of defence. It said it "meticulously maintained" all required documentation, including instructor credentials and aircraft records, and that it conducted maintenance "strictly in accordance" with approved procedures. None of the allegations contained in the four lawsuits filed by students have been tested in court. Meanwhile, Liu said he would still like to bring his family, including his four-year-old child, to Canada, but his future is still up in the air. "I'm still struggling about my plan. I don't know what can I do," he said.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Gold standard for aviation training': Western University partners with MFC
One of Canada's leading flight training organizations is coming to Ontario for the first time this fall. One of Canada's leading flight training organizations is coming to Ontario for the first time this fall, with the partnership of Western University and New Brunswick-based MFC. The training will occur at London International Airport as part of Western's commercial aviation program, running out of the Executive Aviation Hangar. According to Western officials, MFC is investing about $50 million, including the purchase of planes from Diamond Aircraft in London. Jackie Book, the commercial aviation management program director at Western University, said the university will be able to offer the Integrated Airline Transport Pilot license for the first time. 'We're really excited to partner with MFC Flight Training, which we view as the gold standard for aviation training and especially pilot training in Canada,' said Book. With labour shortages in all areas of aviation, the program addresses a local need. Scott McFadzean, London International Airport president, said this will help London's aviation sector. 'You have the education and the graduates, you know, coming out of London, then you're more apt to get business and industry here that want to hire those graduates and continue to grow their aviation businesses right here in London.'
