Austin Airways
Austin Airways was a passenger airline and freight carrier based in Timmins, Ontario, and the oldest in Canada.
Code Information
- ICAO Code:
- IATA Code:
- Call Sign:
Company history
It was Canada's oldest airline and started service in 1934. The home base was Timmins and it operated many duties in addition to passenger and freight services. Over the years, scheduled services served over 40 cities, including some destinations in the United States. In 1973 it merged with White River Air Services but continued to operate as Austin Airways.
In June 1987 it merged with Air Ontario Ltd (formerly Great Lakes Airlines (Canada), formed in 1958) to form Air Ontario Inc. In turn Air Ontario became part of Air Canada Jazz in 2001. [1]
Aircraft Used
Over its long history, Austin Airways used the following aircraft:
Destinations
Most of the locations Austin Airway flew were isolated and remote airports in Northern Ontario and a few larger airports across Ontario. Rupert House and Minneapolis were the only out of province locations flown by the airline by the 1980s.
- Attawapiskat, Ontario
- Bear Lake, Ontario
- Bearskin Lake, Ontario
- Big Trout Lake, Ontario
- Cochrane, Ontario
- Fort Albany, Ontario
- Fort Hope, Ontario
- Geraldton, Ontario
- Kapuskasing, Ontario
- Kasabonika Lake, Ontario
- Kashechewan First Nation, Ontario
- Kenora
- Lansdowne House, Ontario
- Manitouwadge, Ontario
- Marathon, Ontario
- Minneapolis
- Moosonee, Ontario
- Nakina, Ontario
- Pickle Lake, Ontario
- Pikangikum, Ontario
- Red Lake, Ontario
- Round Lake, Ontario
- Rupert House (Waskaganish, Quebec)
- Sachigo Lake, Ontario
- Sandy Lake, Ontario
- Severn, Ontario - most northerly destination
- Sioux Lookout, Ontario
- Thunder Bay
- Timmins
- Toronto - most southerly destination
- Webequie First Nation, Ontario
- Winisk, Ontario
Accidents and incidents
- In January 1964, Douglas C-47 CF-ILQ crashed 50 minutes after take-off on a cargo flight from Moosonee to Nemiscan Settlement, Ontario. Both pilots were seriously injured, but were pulled from the aircraft 4–5 days later by a search and rescue party and ultimately survived. It was determined that the crash was caused by fuel deprivation leading to engine failure of both of the aircraft's engines. To this day, the hulk of the aircraft still sits where it had crashed in 1964, despite being partially salvaged, and burned from a forest fire that swept across the area in the mid-1980s.
- On 9 November 1969, Douglas C-47B CF-AAL crashed on approach to Timmins Airport, Ontario killing two of the four people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic flight from Winisk, Ontario.[2]
- On 19 June 1970, Douglas C-47A CF-AAC was written off in an accident at Val-d'Or Airport, Quebec.[3]
- On 10 December 1976, Douglas C-47A C-FIAX crashed on take-off from Chisabisi Airport. All eight people on board survived.[4]
References
- ^ Airlines Remembered by BI Hengi, Publisher Midland Publishing
- ^ "CF-AAL Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19691109-0. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ^ "CF-AAC Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700619-0. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "C-FIAX Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19761210-2. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
- ^ "C-GNNA Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860119-1. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External links