None of the pilots or crew members were hurt and no patients were on board a medevac aircraft that experienced an 鈥渋ssue鈥� while landing at the Whitehorse airport on the evening of Aug. 16.
Alkan Air Ltd. made a Facebook post shortly before midnight on Aug. 16 about the incident that took place that evening at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport.
The post mentions the company鈥檚 medevac and charter services are continuing to operate.
A statement to the News on behalf of Alkan Air Ltd. CEO Lacia Kinnear states the issue happened at 8 p.m. but doesn鈥檛 elaborate on what happened. None of the four people on board 鈥� two pilots and two emergency personnel 鈥� were injured, Kinnear wrote.
The cause of the incident is being investigated by the airline and has been reported to 鈥渁ll relevant authorities.鈥� No additional comment will be provided by the airline at this time, per the statement.
An email statement from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada indicates the occurrence involving a Beechcraft King Air B200 operated by Alkan Air Ltd. has been brought to its attention.
Shortly after taking off, the aircraft requested to return due to a landing gear issue. An emergency wasn鈥檛 declared, according to TSB鈥檚 statement.
The aircraft landed but upon doing a 180-degree turn at the end of the runway to access a taxiway, the right main landing gear collapsed, per the statement.
No one was reported injured, TSB confirmed.
The transportation authority won鈥檛 be sending a team to the site but is gathering more information from the operator, as routine.
鈥淭he aircraft was released to allow the airport to reopen the runway,鈥� reads the statement from TSB.
The airline provides medevac flight services from Yukon communities to Whitehorse and to Vancouver and other southern locations, according to an email statement via the airline. The company's website describes it as the territory's dedicated air ambulance service that runs 24/7.
Alkan Air Ltd. flies the King Air 200, 300 or 350 as part of its air ambulance coverage, according to the company's website.
The Yukon government and Alkan Air Ltd. recently signed a contract to extend the company's air ambulance services at the cost of about $157 million over 10 years.
Editor's note: This story originally indicated the aircraft experienced issues during taxiing and taking off, citing statements provided by Alkan Air Ltd. The airline has since confirmed to the News the issue took place during landing. The story has been updated accordingly.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
