North-Wright Airways or North Wright Air is an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

based in Norman Wells,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, Canada. It operates commuter services to several communities in the Northwest Territories as well as charter services. Their main base is Norman Wells Airport and they also operate the Norman Wells Water Aerodrome which is used for

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

operations.

History

North-Wright Airways was established in 1986 and was previously known, since 1979, as Nahanni Air Services and North Wright Air.

Destinations

As of July 2024, North-Wright Airways serves the following destinations: *

Aklavik Aklavik (Inuvialuktun: ''Akłarvik'') (from the Inuvialuktun meaning '' barrenground grizzly place'') is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Until 1961, with a population over 1,500, the community served ...

( Aklavik/Freddie Carmichael Airport) * Colville Lake ( Colville Lake/Tommy Kochon Aerodrome) * Deline (

Déline Airport Déline Airport is an airport located northwest of Deline, Northwest Territories, Canada. Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, ...

) *

Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jack ...

( Fort Good Hope Airport) *

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...

( Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport) * Norman Wells ( Norman Wells Airport) - main base *

Tulita Tulita, which in Slavey means "where the rivers or waters meet", is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime betwee ...

( Tulita Airport) *

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

( Yellowknife Airport) Pilatus Porter

Fleet

As of July 2024, North-Wright operates at least nine aircraft and has seventeen registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

: Several of the above aircraft types can be configured for

operations from lakes or rivers in addition to being operated as landplanes using conventional runways or airstrips.

Accidents

*On 5 July 2004, a Twin Otter, C-FMOL, was departing a gravel runway just off the Canol Road west of Norman Wells. As they took off the aircraft was caught by a sudden crosswind and returned to the runway where the left wheel caught some willows that were growing onto the airstrip. The aircraft went off the end of the strip and the wing became detached. No one was killed or injured *On 14 September 2005, a Cessna 207, C-FAWL, left Tulita Airport for Norman Wells. About the aircraft, with one pilot and two passengers, went down into the

muskeg Muskeg (; ; , lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal ecosystem, boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, bog or peatland, and is a standard te ...

and flipped over. The passengers were uninjured but the pilot had serious injuries. *On 16 August 2006, a Cessna 337, C-FWHP, was flying from Fort Good Hope Airport to Norman Wells with one pilot and five passengers. the aircraft went overdue and a search was begun. The wreckage was found about east of Fort Good Hope. All passengers and the pilot were killed. *On 16 July 2008, a Twin Otter was on final for Hook Lake when the aircraft stalled. The aircraft hit some trees near the shore of the lake but neither pilot was injured. *On 20 May 2010, the wing of a Cessna 207, that was flying at a low altitude at Fort Good Hope Airport hit another North-Wright pilot. The pilot on the ground, William Bleach, who was filming at the time, died three days later. Parker James Butterfield, who was flying the C207, was sentenced to nine months and suspended from flying for two years.ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 74509
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References

External links

* {{Airlines of Canada Charter airlines of Canada Airlines established in 1986 Regional airlines of the Northwest Territories 1986 establishments in the Northwest Territories Seaplane operators