NDP Leader Carla Beck says last Tuesday night when Saskatoon’s largest emergency room was at 350 per cent capacity, a plane bound for Saskatoon declared an onboard emergency.
The NDP says audio recordings were posted online between the pilots of Air Canada Flight 1937 and air traffic control which confirmed an emergency shortly after 10 p.m. The flight was bound for Saskatoon from Toronto.
Beck says her party if elected to government on October 28th plans to increase staffing to keep emergency rooms open. They will relieve pressure on Saskatoon Emergency rooms as well as reduce wait times by reopening the emergency room at Saskatoon City Hospital 24/7. They say they will modernize the Ambulance Act which will get paramedics out of waiting rooms and back on the road.
And they plan to share information with Saskatchewan residents regarding unplanned emergency room closures by launching an online dashboard.
Excerpt from the NDP news release:
“Pan-pan-pan,” the pilots are heard saying to air traffic controllers. “We have a flight control issue with (indiscernible) flaps.”
Air traffic controller responded, “I understand you’re declaring pan-pan.”
“Affirmative,” one of the pilots responds.
Pan-pan is the international standard signal that there is an urgency on board a boat, ship, aircraft or other vehicle.
The air traffic controller then asks if the pilot is “declaring an emergency?”
“Affirmative,” the pilot responds
“How many people are onboard?” air traffic control asks.
“One-hundred-and-twenty-two total souls onboard,” the pilot responds.
Air traffic control then advises that emergency services had been contacted and later confirms ambulances were on the ground at Saskatoon International Airport.
The Air Canada flight landed in Saskatoon safely without incident at 11:49 p.m.
