Article contentMarch, who couldn’t confirm the exact number of responders that were prepared to respond if needed, said fire services used the false alarm as a “learning exercise” in case of a real emergency in the future.Article content“Today gave us a good training opportunity to learn some things, which we did,” he said. “You don’t want this to happen very often… it’s a lot of responders responding from home and from work, racing to the fire department.Article content“We’re happy that the occupants and the operators of the helicopter are fine. We’ll take this and learn from it, but it’s not something that we want to happen on a regular basis, that’s for sure.”Article content Chris March, deputy chief of operations with Cape Breton Regional Fire and Emergency Services, said the missing helicopter miscommunication was a ‘learning experience’ for first responders. IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentIn a social media post, Breton Air confirmed the helicopter in question was owned by the Cape Breton-based company.Article content“We would like to confirm that there has been no incident, whatsoever, and this has unfortunately resulted from miscommunication between our pilot and Nav Canada,” said the company on Facebook.Article contentArticle content“Today certainly highlights the effectiveness of our prompt aviation safety network, along with first responders, that effectively engage incident reporting in the most timely manner.Article content“We are extremely grateful for the response from Nav Canada, JRCC, and first responders that have reacted to information given to them from appropriate resources, operating in their appropriate manner.”Article contentBreton Air didn’t say how many occupants were in the helicopter at the time of the report.Article contentThe Cape Breton Post has learned the helicopter was flying to Sydney Airport.Article content FILE PHOTO: A Breton Air helicopter lands at the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport. CAPE BRETON POST FILE PHOTO Photo by Cape Breton Post /Cape Breton PostArticle contentJ.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport also issued a statement on social media.Article content“We thank our emergency response team and our mutual aid partners for their swift action and continued commitment to safety,” reads a post on Facebook.Article contentMarch said the communication throughout the situation was “excellent”.Article content“The communications between the aviation authorities and our local dispatch and our people on the ground were exemplary,” said March. “If we had a question or needed some information, through dispatch and the aviation industry, we got answers forthwith right away.”Article contentNo commercial air traffic delays were reported during the situation at Sydney Airport.Article content
Missing helicopter miscommunication used as learning exercise for Cape Breton first responders
