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Colleagues mourn pilot killed in Island crash |
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Written by FRANK PEEBLES
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 |
Pilot Simon Lawrence, who grew up in Fort St. James, is seen in this photo. (Photo courtesy Neil Aird at www.dhc-2.com)
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VANCOUVER ISLAND
Simon Lawrence was the pilot of the 1944 Grumman Goose that went down in a remote area near Port Hardy loaded with six passengers. He and four others died, but two survived and a Transport Canada investigation is underway into the cause of the crash.
"He was a great pilot and knew a lot about the airplanes, he could take them apart and put them back together again and fly them," said longtime friend Bryan Wallace of Guardian Aerospace based in Vanderhoof and Prince George. "We talked many times about these situations and I know he's thought about every detail, so when that happened, whatever it was, I know he would have tried whatever it took. It would have taken a multitude of problems - terrain, mechanical, weather, distraction - for this to happen on Simon."
The 36-year-old father of a teenaged daughter grew up in Fort St. James. He loved aircraft. His father Stephen also loved aircraft and one of their great joys later in life was sharing the Piper Cherokee they owned together. He had a close relationship with his father and mother Anwin, and his sister. The family was thrilled when he walked into Danish Aviation as a teenager and asked owner Jim Danish to teach him everything about planes.
Danish literally took him under his wing. One of the first things he had the fledgling aircraft mechanic do was build a wooden board with tool hooks that was mounted on the wall so he could get an orderly understanding of the trade.
"Do you know, that board is still up in there," said Danish. "There are still signs of him here in the workplace."
Pat Durling has worked at Danish Aviation for many years and remembers him well, first coming to work there after school and on weekends, then full time as an adult.
"I think he had his pilot's licence before he had his driver's licence," Durling said.
But Lawrence loved the total aircraft industry, so he got his aircraft maintenance engineer's licence as well as his wings. After working for Danish Aviation for several years alongside Wallace, the two ended up together at Guardian Aerospace for another couple of years.
Wallace said that in both situations Lawrence was an extraordinary presence. "He was an awesome person. He was kind to the enth degree, always on time, always enthusiastic, he cared very much for everybody he knew."
He also stayed in touch, Wallace added, dropping in to visit only a couple of months ago when he was back in the area visiting family and friends.
"These are tough days for us, we feel a great loss, you had a friend in him, and our condolences go out to his family. It's gotten me quite under the weather," Durling said.
In addition to the big role his 14-year-old daughter played in his life, Lawrence was also a noted photographer who loved to capture images of the remote places he flew.
After a stint flying Beavers for Fort St. James-based Tsayta Aviation servicing bush camps all over northern B.C., he took on a position flying for Pacific Coast Airlines on Vancouver Island. It was for them he was flying on Sunday with a logging crew heading from Port Hardy to Chamiss Bay - a routine 20 minute flight he had done many times.
The cause of the crash is still a mystery. The wreckage was in dense bush and the two survivors were found quickly only because one of them clambered up a mountainside to a spot he could get cell reception and sent text messages to searchers who still struggled to locate them.
A memorial service was held Tuesday night in Port Hardy.
There is still no indication about possible local memorial ceremonies.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 August 2008 )
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