Sask. NDP Say New Water Bomber Grounded Due to Lack of Pilots, Province Says Training to Resume in July

Saskatchewan says no certified pilots available to bring new water bomber into action for wildfires

The public safety agency says it did not have a pilot fully certified to operate a water bomber in time for the early season wildfires.

Sask. government defends grounded water bomber as criticism mounts over wildfire response

A brand-new water bomber sat unused and idle at the La Ronge airport as wildfires raged nearby, destroying homes and businesses, according to Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP.

Sask. NDP raise concerns over lack of pilots trained to fly new water bomber

The Saskatchewan NDP says no pilots have been trained to fly the recently purchased Conair Dash 8-Q400AT Airtanker.

Sask. NDP say new water bomber grounded due to lack of pilots, province says training to resume in July

The Saskatchewan NDP say the province nearly lost one of its brand-new water bombers when flames breached the La Ronge airport earlier this month – due to no qualified pilots being able to fly it.

NDP blast Sask Party for grounding new water bomber during wildfires

Opposition Public Safety critic Nicole Sarauer raised questions about why newly-purchased Dash-8- Q400AT “secretly sat idle on the tarmac.”

Union Says Firefighting Pilots Fleeing Poor Wages

Part of the fleet of firefighting aircraft in the Canadian province of Ontario has been grounded by a pilot shortage brought on by low wages. JP Hornick, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the aerial firefighting force is short five pilots and that’s resulted in the grounding of three of the province’s 11 CL-415 water bombers. JP Hornick, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union said the pilots left Ontar…