Sonicblue Airways

Sonicblue Airways was an airline based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with their headquarters in Richmond. SonicBlue offered both scheduled and charter services and would fly anywhere in North America. For maintenance failings (and following an accident) Transport Canada suspended Sonicblue's operating license and grounded the company's fleet in January 2006.

Sonicblue Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
VL - -
Commenced operations2002
Ceased operations2006
Operating basesVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Fleet sizeSee Fleet below
DestinationsSee Destinations below
Parent companyInternational Express Air Charter Ltd.
HeadquartersRichmond, British Columbia, Canada

Code data

History

It was operated by International Express Air Charter Ltd. and was formed after Regency Express acquired North Vancouver Air in 2002 and rebranding the airline SonicBlue Airways.[2]

On 23 January 2006 Transport Canada announced the suspension of International Express Air Charter Ltd.’s air operator certificate, effective immediately. The suspension was based on a "review of the company's record and concerns with the company’s ability to exercise operational control, including proper record keeping and aircraft maintenance".[3]

On 22 March 2006 Transport Canada announced that International Express Aircharter Ltd. was fined $125,000 for failing to maintain their aircraft properly, and their air operator certificate was cancelled. The company was charged with failing to maintain five aircraft in violation of Canadian Aviation Regulations by not performing required aircraft maintenance inspections on schedule. In one case, a maintenance inspection was overdue by more than 270 hours.[4]

Destinations

Incidents and accidents
  • On 21 January 2006 a Sonicblue Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (C-GRXZ) chartered flight from Tofino to Vancouver was trying to divert to Port Alberni after a pilot mayday, but crashed 12 kilometers from Port Alberni killing one crew member and two passengers. Five passengers survived. The investigation showed that a turbine blade snapped off in the engine due to fatigue.[5] Subsequent investigations showed that six of Sonicblue's aircraft (including the Cessna Caravan involved in the accident) were overdue their mandatory inspections. As a result, Transport Canada suspended Sonicblue's operating license and grounded the company's fleet.[4]

Fleet

As of January 2006 the SonicBlue fleet consisted of the following :

See also

References
  1. "The Airline Codes Website". airlinecodes.co.uk. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  2. "North Vancouver Air". Airline History. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. Nelson, Rod (January 23, 2006). "Transport Canada Suspends International Express Aircharter Ltd.'s Air Operator Certificate". Transport Canada/Transports Canada. Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  4. Nelson, Rod (March 22, 2006). "Transport Canada Fines International Express Aircharter Ltd. and Cancels Air Operator Certificate". Transport Canada/Transports Canada. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  5. "Aviation Safety Network". Flight Safety Foundation Accident description. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.