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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)
Number 584 May 1st, 2001, We first Published in October 1995
Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson - Co-pilot - Terry Baker
To get in touch with either editor/pilot our email address is
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. Need to know.
The Employee & Industry Travel team has updated the letter of introduction
sent to former active and retired Canadian Airlines last year. This letter should be
used when travelling with other carriers. It serves to introduce the bearer as an
Air Canada employee. Retirees will receive it at home.
If you haven't received it by May 15, contact Industry & Employee Travel
by telephone (800) 665-2560, fax (604) 276-4892, e-mail
Air Canada announced on April 26th the launch of more transborder routes as follows;
Eff June 26th twice daily Toronto to Greenville SC
Eff June 26th daily year-round service to Charleston SC
Eff June 26th daily year-round service to Norfolk VA
Eff June 29th to Sept 30th daily summer service between Edmonton and San Francisco
Eff July 5th daily year-round service Vancouver to Miami
Eff Oct 2tth twice weekly (Thu and Sun) service for the winter
between Montreal and Las Vegas.
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. News from the Districts.
Charles Stock of Halifax sends this update -
Here's some news from YHZ. The YHZ District has agreed to host the next
Pionairs CURLING BONSPIEL At the CFB YHZ CURLING CLUB
on NOV 21 & 22 , 2001.
Full details will be sent to district and teams who have completed in past
bonspiels early in SEPTEMBER.
Ken McLeod and Charles Stock will be the organizers.
A Maximum of SIXTEEN entries will be accepted.
Further info at my email address charlesfstock @hotmail.com.
The Comox Valley Pionair group held their monthly luncheon get-together
on Thursday Apr 26th, emceed by Murray Phipps.
In attendance were 32 Pionairs and spouses, including 12 from Canadian Airlines.
Terry Baker gave a short talk giving details of his career with TCA/Air Canada,
information regarding the NetLetter, the acfamily web site, some further
developments taking place with the web site, and some travel information.
Ralph Tisdall gave out details of the 32nd Prestwick Closed Golf Tourney bewing
held in Montreal in September. The 'Closed' is not 'open' to all!
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. The 32nd Prestwick Closed Golf Tourney -
Heather and Ralph Tisdall sends us this information -
Held this year at the Gray Rocks in the Laurentians, 115 km northwest of
Montreal from September 17-20; with golfing at the two courses, The Beauty
and The Beast on September 18 and 19.
Single occupancy--$374 per person + taxes
Double occupancy--$239 per person + taxes
These rates include 3 nights, 3 breakfasts, 2 dinners and access to the
pool, whirlpools, sauna, fitness equipment and beach.
Service charges and taxes are not included.
We have starting times for the 18 and 19 of September and the
rates are $50 for the Beauty and $62 for the Beast, including carts.
Some of the other activities available include, Tremblant Village,
Lake cruises, gondola rides, tennis courts, mountain biking and
horseback riding.
Please contact Bonnie and George Landry
277 Bayview Road, Pincourt, Quebec
J7V 3X2
1-514-453-4417
e-mail:
After letting Bonnie and George know that you will be atendind please make
your reservation with Suzanne Bernardine at 1-800-567-6762 ext. 521
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. May Day!
My wife and I are planning a trip to Australia and possibly New Zealand this
October for approximately 1 month. Would appreciate any advice on
accommodations ,recommended tours or on sites not to be missed.
Dan Moss Retired AC
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. Bob Affleck sent us this -
Subject: An Insider's View of the China Rescue Mission
By Captain Guy Greider, Continental Airlines
Since the mid-air collision on April 1, 2001 between a U.S. Navy EP-3
surveillance aircraft and a Chinese jet fighter, I had watched the news with
mild interest. This was mostly due to the proximity of Guam to China. I never
dreamed that I would play a role in this intensely watched international
drama. Somewhere in the negotiations between the United States and the
Chinese Governments, it was decided that a civilian aircraft should be
sent to retrieve the 24 crew members being detained on Hainan Island, China.
A call was made to Continental Airlines headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Continental was chosen because of its Guam base and its ability to launch
this kind of operation at a moment s notice. From there, the operation took
shape through the tireless efforts of many people working behind the scenes
in a coordinated effort between the airline, the military, and the State Department.
On Saturday, April 7, 2001, I received a call at home from Captain Ralph
Freeman, Continental Micronesia Director of Flight Operations. Ralph told me
that the military wanted to charter one of our jets to conduct a rescue mission
and asked if I would be one of the crew members. I said yes without hesitation.
Later we were told that we would need to get passport pictures taken in case
the Chinese Government required visas. We got the required photos and were
under the impression that we would leave immediately.
However, the negotiations slowed over the demand from the Chinese that
the U.S. issue an apology that the U.S. was unwilling to give. Meanwhile, the
Continental crew remained on call 24 hours a day.
Our Uniforms were laid out and our bags were packed and waiting by the
door. On Wednesday evening April 11, 2001, at about 6:30 PM Ralph called
again to say that the two parties were very close to an agreement to release
the U.S. crew and to come to the airport. Upon arrival, we were given a briefing
sheet listing the information that we would need to conduct the flight. We would
carry a Repatriation Team consisting of Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force
specialists, 14 people in all. Doctors, psychologists, and communications
people with lots of gear showed up on the ramp near the airplane, ready
to board. They were all dressed in casual civilian clothes.
The 155-seat jet was fitted with 2 full stretcher kits bolted in over rows of
seats complete with Oxygen tanks and I.V. bottles. They did not know the
condition of the 24 detained crew members and they were not going to take
any chances. They were prepared. When our crew was fully assembled, it
consisted of 11 people: two pilots to fly the jet and an extra to provide relief
because of the extensive flight time involved. They were Captain Tom Pinardo,
Captain Pierre Frenay and I. We also carried five very experienced flight
attendants. They were Debbie Percell, Susanne Hendricks, Jean Tang, and
Beverly Haines. Our 2 onboard mechanics were Peter Lum and Julius Aguilo.
Our load planner was Mike Torres.
At about 9:30 PM we received a call asking that we arrive in China no earlier
than 6:00 AM, just about sunrise. It was obvious that the entire exchange
would be photographed and they wanted daylight conditions. We estimated
that a 2:15 AM departure from Guam would put us on the ground in Haikou
precisely at 6:00 AM local China time. (2 hours earlier than Guam) Some of us
just stayed on the plane, others accepted the company's invitation to come
to the Continental President's Club, a local VIP lounge at the airport to try
to get some rest. It was difficult to get any rest with our much-anticipated
mission so near.
By 1:00 AM the pilots were back in the briefing room going over the weather,
flight plan, fuel requirements and everything else that goes into a flight. Again,
we loaded up the airplane and finally departed Guam International at
precisely 2:15 AM. The stretcher kits and medical gear were not the only
special additions to the airplane.The company had loaded a special file into
the navigation database of the flight management computer (FMC). This
allowed us to gain access to navigation data needed to operate in this part
of China, which is not in our normal route structure. The Repatriation Team
carried sophisticated equipment to communicate with the military and government
officials that would monitor our progress throughout the flight.
The route of flight took us straight west from Guam toward the Philippines
along the G467 airway. About half way across we turned north directly toward
Hong Kong. This routing was designed to avoid flying through Taiwanese airspace,
something that the Chinese could consider offensive.
Approaching the Chinese coastline, we contacted Hong Kong radar control.
After establishing radar contact with us, the controller gave us a short cut to
expedite his traffic flow. This was bad because it cut off considerable distance
and would result in arriving too early. We compensated by slowing our airspeed
until the computer again estimated a 6:00 AM arrival. The instant we turned
across the short cut, the interphone rang from the back of the plane. They
wanted to know why we had deviated from the flight plan.
We told them it was due to Hong Kong traffic and that we had adjusted our
airspeed. We were still on schedule. Now we were approaching our destination,
Haikou airport on Hainan Island.
Captain Pierre Frenay was at the controls. The weather was 2000-ft overcast
with five miles visibility and light winds out of the east. Pierre made an ILS
approach to and landed on runway 9. Haikou airport is much the same as many
other airports in the world that serve jet transport aircraft. It has an 11,000-ft
runway with standard lighting and navigational facilities. We touched down at
6:07 AM. The first early morning light was beginning to illuminate the sky.
The local air traffic controller instructed us to follow a vehicle that was beside
us on an adjacent taxiway. He led us to a remote part of the airport, away from
the main terminal buildings.
Once we had parked and shut down the engines, we saw many uniformed Chinese
military personnel and vehicles. They did not appear to have weapons. Portable
stairs were brought up to the airplane and we opened the main cabin door.
The Repatriation Team that we carried had been briefed to close down all of
their communications equipment prior to landing and put it away. They were
also briefed to remain in their seats in a non-threatening posture in case the
Chinese military came aboard. The first and only person to come aboard was
an Air China employee. He spoke English and was to act as the translator
between our group and the Chinese military. He instructed us to have everyone
fill out both arrival and departure documents. He collected all of our passports
and left the aircraft. Before he left, he said that only one person at a time
would be allowed to deplane. Peter Lum, one of our mechanics went down to
supervise the refueling and servicing of the airplane. When that was complete,
I went down to do the walk-around inspection. I did this rather slowly because
I wanted to have a chance to look around. While I was out on the ramp, a skirmish
developed between people who were trying to climb a wall to photograph our
aircraft and the Chinese police. Somehow, CNN managed to carry our arrival
and departure live. Once the airplane was serviced and ready to go, we looked
anxiously around for any sign of the buses that carried our 24 detainees. Before
that could happen however, we had a problem to deal with. A U.S. military
general who was on the scene to assist in the transfer came storming up the
stairs and demanded to speak with the captain. Tom Pinardo responded. The
general said that the entire mission was now in jeopardy. A document called
the general declaration, which is standard on all international flights had listed
the destination as Haikou, China R.O.C. The initials ROC stand for Republic of
China which is .. Taiwan! The Chinese were very upset over this. Tom quickly
crossed out ROC and replaced it with P.R.O.C. -- the Peoples Republic of
China. This seemed to satisfy them.
With the airplane ready to go and the paperwork complete, 2 buses pulled up
and the 24 U.S. servicemen and women saluted as they bolted up the stairs
and settled into the back of the plane. When the last one was aboard, our
passports were returned to us. The stairs were withdrawn, the cabin door
closed, and we started the engines and departed. It was my turn at the controls.
Once airborne heading straight south we broke through the clouds into the bright
sunshine. Pierre made a PA announcement that we were over international
waters and leaving Chinese airspace. A great cheer rose from the back of the
airplane. A short while later we received a telephone patch over the HF radio
from Mr. Joseph Prueher, U.S Ambassador to China. He wanted to speak with
Lt. Shane Osborne the 26-year-old EP-3 aircraft commander. Lt. Osborne came to
the cockpit and put on a headset. The Ambassador told him that on behalf of the
President of the United States and the entire country he wanted to say welcome
home . He went on to say how proud he was of everything the crew had done
from their airmanship in saving the lives of the crew and aircraft, to their
conduct on the ground once they had been detained. They had truly done an
excellent job.
After his conversation with the Ambassador, Lt. Osborne stayed in the cockpit
for quite a while and told us his story pilot to pilot of what had happened during
and immediately after the mid-air collision with the F-8 Chinese fighter. The
fighter came up under their left wing. This pilot made two very close passes
previously that day. He apparently misjudged the intercept and his vertical
stabilizer struck the outboard left propeller on the EP-3. The U.S. plane was
in straight and level flight on autopilot at the time. The fighter broke into two
pieces and plunged into the sea. The U.S. plane rolled to the left almost
inverted, the pilot lost control and they began to lose altitude. The Chinese
fighter had raked back across the fuselage and knocked off the nose cone
causing the aircraft to buffet wildly. When the nose cone departed the aircraft
it collided with and damaged the number 4 propeller on the right wing. The
collision punctured the pressure vessel and the EP-3 depressurized. The
collision also knocked off the pitot tubes, eliminating airspeed and altitude
indications in the cockpit. It also knocked off the forward bracket for the HF radio
antenna. The antenna then flew back and wrapped around the tail. We were
almost upside down and totally out of control, Osborne told us. The dive
continued and some crew members donned parachutes. At about 8,000 feet,
Osborne regained straight and level flight. They considered ditching the
aircraft in the South China Sea but dismissed that option because it was
certain to result in loss of life. They headed for the nearest land, Hainan Island.
The U.S. crew now faced the most difficult landing of their lives. They made
numerous mayday, mayday, mayday radio calls on internationally recognized
emergency frequencies. The Chinese did not respond. Somehow, they
managed to get the airplane on the ground.
Their next immediate task was to destroy the sensitive electronic
surveillance equipment aboard the EP-3. Meanwhile the Chinese military had
approached the aircraft in vehicles and were yelling at them through loudspeakers
to deplane. The next 11 days would be a very uncertain time for them. When we
met them, they told us that they had not been abused or mistreated. Their food
was adequate and plentiful. Sort of like eating in a Chinese restaurant every day
one of them said. On the fourth day, they got some coffee. On the fifth day,
some cokes were provided.
The crew did not know what kind of transport would be provided for their
return home. They were pleased and surprised to see a chartered airliner from
the United States. The rest of the flight from Haikou to Andersen AFB on
Guam was uneventful. During the 5 hour flight the crew was treated to the
movie "Men of Honor" and enjoyed a first class meal. We did not know it at
the time but our landing at Andersen AFB was carried live on national television.
We taxied to the parking ramp at Andersen where many people had turned out
to welcome all of us home. Individuals and families with kids, both military and
civilian waved American flags and cheered, showing support for the returning
U.S. spy plane crew. Once the 24 U.S. crewmembers and the military Repatriation
Team had deplaned at Andersen, they immediately boarded waiting buses and
were whisked away.
The Continental crew then became the object of intense media attention. CNN,
MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Reuters and various print media interviewed us. A dizzying
swirl of attention after a very long day. We were happy, tired, and pleased that
the mission was so successful as Tom flew the last segment, a 10-minute flight
back to Guam International Airport. This time our passengers included Bill Meehan,
President of Continental Micronesia, Guam Governor Carl Gutierrez, Lieutenant
Governor Bordallo and others.
We thought the day was just about over but we had one more surprise in store.
After landing, we were given a hero's welcome of our own. The airport fire
department was in place to give us the traditional water cannon salute, a
rainbow arch of water for us to taxi under. A reception was held at the gate with
food, balloons, commemorative plaques, and more media interviews with the
local television station. This was very heady stuff.
As I look back on this one of a kind operation, it could not have happened
without the tremendous effort and skills of many.
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. Smilie.
THE LIGHT'S ON BUT NOBODY'S HOME...
Last Wednesday, Auckland International Airport was shut down due to lack
of air traffic controller coverage. Apparently, four controllers called
in sick and one was (rather poetically) "stuck in traffic." The result
left the tower "unattended" for 25 minutes during the morning peak hour,
while the sole remaining tower controller took a break. WAIT!
Apparently, that controller had met the maximum three-hour shift allowed
by regulations and therefore had no legal alternative but to leave his
post between 9:30 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. local time.
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. DID YOU KNOW?
That you can read or retrieve back issues of "theNetLetter" ?
Just visit our web site at:
http://www.acfamily.org/netletter
and click on the "Archives" button.
This area is only open to "the NetLetter" subscribers and you will
need the following password to enter -
User Name: netletter Password: vesta
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