W_2015_03_04

WWW.WINGSMAGAZINE.COM March/April 2015 | WINGS 31

PHOTO: PAUL DIXON

I

t may seem counterin-

tuitive to operate an aer-

ial surveillance program

with aircraft painted fire

engine red and the word

“surveillance” in big block let-

ters on both sides, but that is

exactly what the federal gov-

ernment is doing with great

success.

Canada has the longest

coastline in the world, with

more than 200,000 kilome-

tres of saltwater coast and the

Great Lakes, all of it vulner-

able to pollution from a variety

of sources. Transport Canada

(TC) and Environment Canada

have teamed up to operate the

National Aerial Surveillance

Program (NASP), consisting

of three aircraft: a Dash 8-100

based in Vancouver covering

the Pacific region, a second

Dash 8-100 in Moncton, N.B.,

covering the Atlantic, and a

Dash-7 based out of Ottawa

that covers the Arctic as well as

the Great Lakes.

The crews on these aircraft

are made up of TC Aircraft Ser-

vices Personnel and a Marine

Aerial Reconnaissance Team

(MART) of TC and Environ-

ment Canada specialists armed

with an array of instruments

and cameras to detect and re-

cord marine pollution.

Wings was recently invited

to join the Vancouver crew for

a day onboard its Dash 8-100

otherwise known as “Transport

951.” The day starts with a team

meeting to brief the day’s mis-

sion with particular emphasis

on the weather in the areas

they hope to fly. The pilots on

the day are Susan Baumeler

and Simon Pearce, with Owen

Rusticus and Bob Whitaker as

the MART.

There’s a strong law enforce-

ment connection with this

unit, as three of the four team

members have backgrounds in

policing. Baumeler started her

career with the RCMP, first in

patrol and then moving into

aviation, eventually flying the

Citation jet. She then moved

over to TC as an inspector and

then back into the cockpit with

the NASP and now has more

than 3,000 flying hours on the

Dash 8.

Pearce is the outlier, hav-

ing worked his way through a

variety of aviation jobs, but he

knew his future was set the first

time he spied the bright red

airplane (a Twin Otter at that

time) and said “That’s for me.”

He now has more than 2,000

hours on the Dash 8.

The MART members in the

back of the plane have two dif-

ferent policing tracks. Owen

Rusticus came to Environment

Canada after 13 years with

the RCMP, while Bob Whita-

ker took a slightly more circu-

itous route. Born in the U.K.,

he served five years with the

RAF before joining the Surrey

(U.K.) Constabulary. Emigrat-

ing to Canada in the ’90s, he

joined the Calgary Police Ser-

vice and then moved further

west to serve with Victoria

City Police before joining TC

as a maritime safety inspector

at the Maritime Safety Opera-

tions Centre (MSOC).

The day’s mission is a bit

of a crap shoot – it could be

anywhere on the Pacific coast,

depending on a number of fac-

tors. If Environment Canada’s

Integrated Satellite Tracking

of Pollution Program (ISTOP)

has detected anomalies on the

ocean surface that are con-

sistent with oil pollution, the

MART unit will be tasked for

a more detailed investigation

with its array of sensors and

most importantly, human eyes.

For all the reliance on technol-

ogy, the human eye is still the

best tool for determining if that

really is oil on the water.

Mission duration can extend

up to six hours, ranging out

to the 200-mile international

limit and extending as far north

as Alaska. Off-shore, flying at

23,000 feet, the Side Looking

Aerial Radar (SLAR) is able

to cover a swath almost 100

kilometres wide. Interfaced

with the Automatic Informa-

tion System (AIS), mandatory

on commercial vessels over

300 tons, ships can be identi-

fied and tracked by the aircraft

at a great distance. Other days

will see the team working the

inshore waters of B.C.’s Salish

Sea, Straits of Georgia and In-

side Passage at altitudes as low

as 1,000 feet. One of the “neat

things” about the job as Pearce

notes is “flying under helicop-

ters and seaplanes.” The SLAR

has limited effectiveness on the

inshore waters, placing maxi-

mum attention on the Mark 1.0

eyeball.

The briefing complete, it’s

time for a safety briefing on-

board the aircraft. The focus

on lifejackets, life rafts, sur-

vival suits and instructions on

evacuating an aircraft after an

ocean landing underscores the

remote and harsh environ-

ments these aircraft often op-

erate in. Securely belted into

an observer’s big seat with a

five-point harness, the mission

starts the moment the aircraft

lifts off and banks south over

Richmond’s tidal shore, then

heads up the main channel of

the Fraser River. The river is

dotted with pleasure craft, fish-

ing boats, tug boats and ocean

going freighters with a string of

marinas, boatyards, industrial

plants and docks lining the

banks, all potential sources of

pollution.

Nothing spotted, we leave

the Fraser, banking over Co-

quitlam to enter the east end

of Vancouver harbour at Port

Moody and fly west from there.

There are more deep sea ships

in Port Moody, marinas and

private docks, Kinder Morgan

terminal in Burnaby, Standard

oil refinery and a myriad of

ENSURING

THE COAST IS

CLEAN ...

THE NASP’S DEDICATED MART TEAM IS WORKING TO SQUASH POLLUTERS

BY PAUL DIXON

To a first-time

visitor it’s like

trying to follow

an auctioneer

for the first time

and constantly

finding yourself

half a step

behind.”