Engine problems continue for Air Canada Boeing 737
by Stephanie Waddell


Engine problems aboard a Boeing 737 continued to plague Air Canada on Thursday as two mechanics attempted to fix the plane that was still grounded at the Whitehorse airport this morning.
After the mechanics thought the problem had been fixed, the airplane began flying back to Vancouver yesterday only to have to return to Whitehorse.
“It’s really a maintenance issue now,” Phil Dyke, customer service manager of the local Air Canada offices, said in an interview this morning.
The plane was originally scheduled to leave Wednesday morning for Vancouver. Although the flight took off with 98 passengers aboard, it only got to Carcross before it had to return to Whitehorse.
After take-off, there were four loud bangs from the engine.
Murray Williamson, supervisor of safety and security for the Whitehorse airport, said Thursday he had heard passengers say they saw flames from the plane when it was taking off.
As Dyke pointed out, although this is not an everyday occurrence, pilots are trained to handle such situations.
It took about 30 minutes for the plane to return because it had to go to Lake Laberge to circle back to the Yukon.
In an interview Thursday, Dyke said that contrary to some local radio reports, the plane never dumped fuel.
Most passengers were accommodated on the afternoon flight, while approximately 37 had to wait for Thursday morning’s flight.
In the meantime, two mechanics flew to Whitehorse to work on the problem engine. However, after they worked on it and began flying the plane back to Vancouver, the same problem occurred.
Now, Dyke said, the mechanics will likely do some trouble-shooting with their headquarters to figure out what can be done to fix the plane and get it back to Vancouver.
Sharon Miller, office manager for Air North, said early this afternoon that the company has offered Air Canada the use of its hangar to do the repair work if need be.
“They haven’t taken the offer yet,” she said.
She said the offer was a matter of courtesy being extended to another airline.