NEW CASARA STORE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

Adam Hill of CASARA London fame has put together two fantastic stores to purchase official CASARA kit for our mmbers. Adam has also created a Supporting store for those who wish to support CASARA. All monies recieved above the cost of the items and shipping will be retuurned to the zones to help support them financially. The link to the store is https://casara.supportsar.ca. The password is the same one you used to access the members section of the site.

Hometown St. Thomas Article, October 2022

‘This training is essential’: RCAF Air and Marine Search and Rescue training continues in Elgin County

Click here for the story

CASARA LOCATES DOWNED AIRCRAFT

On the morning of July 24^th, 2021, an aircraft (a PA-24 Piper Comanche) from CASARA Ottawa was engaged in training exercises just east of Ottawa. During the exercise they heard a MAYDAY call from an aircraft in distress. The distress aircraft had encountered an engine failure and advised it was going to conduct an off-airport landing.

The CASARA crew immediately contacted Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton (JRCC) to report the MAYDAY radio transmission.  JRCC tasked the CASARA aircrew with a search pattern to a possible location as confirmed by an Emergency Locator Beacon (ELT) 406 Mhz hit recorded at Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC) CFB Trenton.  The satellite signal indicated the potential crash site was near Lac Forant, Quebec which was 100 nautical miles northwest of the CASARA training area.  Joining the search were two RCAF air assets, a CC-130H Hercules and a CH-146 Griffon helicopter from 424 Sqn based at CFB Trenton

As the CASARA aircraft approached the crash location they were able to electronically home to the downed aircraft’s exact position with their specialized aircraft-mounted homing equipment.  

Once overhead, a communications link on VHF radio with the downed pilot was attempted with no response.  Out of cell phone range, the quick thinking crew knew that they could communicate through the NavCanada Montreal Area Control Centre (ACC) to relay their position to JRCC which allowed the 424 Sqn aircraft to quickly arrive at the crash scene for the rescue. 

The CASARA crew remained on scene flying overhead until RCAF aircraft arrived to begin rescue operations.  The Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs) from 424 Sqn Trenton were hoisted down from the Griffon helicopter to render medical assistance to the downed pilot who was subsequently hoisted onto the Griffon helicopter and flown to Pembroke Hospital.  She was released from hospital later that day and has expressed her heart felt thanks to the Search and Rescue Crews.

Congratulations to CASARA Ottawa air crew and ground support for their professionalism and a job well done!

“That others may live”

Below is the flight path of the CASARA aircraft…

Below is an image of the crashed aircraft as taken from the Griffon.

JOE SANTSCHI RETIRES

On Saturday, July 17th the members of CASARA London had a BBQ at St. Thomas airport to thank Joe Santschi for his 31 years of dedicated service to CASARA and London Air Patrol. Joe was a member of the London Air Patrol 2 years before CASARA was even born. In his tenure, Joe has been in many roles including Spotter, Electronic Search Specialist, Navigator, Search Coordinator and others. Perhaps one of Joe’s most important roles has been the night shift Dispatcher, being the person that gets wakened up in the middle of the night by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) when a call for assistance comes in. He has held that role for the last 25 years. Joe’s dedication to Search and Rescue had him volunteering several hundred hours each year and would not have been possible had it not been for his very supportive wife, Norma. Over the years, Joe has been trained in winter survival and water egress training and has taken many members under his wing to inspire the next generation of CASARA London volunteers. Thank you for upholding the search and Rescue motto “that others may live” for over 3 decades.

Your friends at CASARA London/London Air Patrol

Courtesy of The Local from Feb 4th 2021. Niagara on the Lake

2020. THE YEAR IN PICTURES.

Please keep sending in your photos. I will add them as I receive them.

CASARA National Newsletters

CASARA National has begun to put out a periodic newsletter to all members. Check them out here.

The Military SAR machine – complex and dedicated

Checkcout the article by Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Grieve, SAR advisor to the commander of Canada Joint Operations Command (CJOC).

CASARA NUNAVUT AIDS IN RESCUE FOR MISSING HUNTER

CHECK OUT THE CBC NEWS STORY HERE.

Every year we gather up the best photos from across Ontario and publish them here for your enjoyment over the holidays. It demonstrates the ongoing contribution of CASARA and the individual dedication of all our members.

“That others may live”

This is a work in progress so please continue to send in your photos!

by Eric Cline

CHINTEX 2019

The Northwestern Ontario Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA Thunder Bay) had a role in CHINTHEX 2019 – May 06 -10. For the second consecutive year 435SQN based in Winnipeg, MB held its spring training exercise (CHINTHEX) in Thunder Bay and area. NOASARA members had many unique opportunities to participate in various activities ranging from flying intercepts, spotting from one of many CC130 Hercules, and portraying casualties for the MAJAID. New and returning members alike were impressed with the variety of airborne taskings – spotting during an intercept, assisting a disabled boat, and spotting and assisting in the dropping of nine SARtechs and Rescue Jumpers for the MAJAID. Each event offered some new experiences and provided new and updated skills and tips. Participation in events such as this helps update skills and increase our interagency operability. Regrettably this year NOASARA was the only CASARA unit involved as many of the Prairie and Northern units found the travel time too long.

Also participating in the event were air and support crews from 435SQN (Winnipeg) with 2 CC130, 424SQN (Trenton) with 1 CC130, 439SQN (Bagottville) with a CH-146 Griffon, and from south of the border; USGC Traverse City MI with a JayHawk helicopter, USAF 39 Rescue SQN (Florida) with a C130 and 304 Rescue SQN (Portland Oregon) with para-rescue jumpers. Additional participation came from CF SkyHawks demonstration team, and Ornge.

Working alongside and around all these rescue professionals, many great connections were made and skills improved. This high profile event has also helped with member recruitment. NOASARA looks forward to working with these groups in the future. 

By Glenn Osmond.

Girls Take Flight

On April 27, 2019 several members from the CARES Niagara Zone based out of St. Catharines maintained a CASARA booth at the “Girls Take Flight” event at the Oshawa Executive Airport. Original plans to also have a static display (C182 – PJO) on the apron had to be cancelled due to inclement weather conditions.
The Zone used the opportunity as a SAR Awareness event to raise the profile of CASARA and our role within the SAR community. Also, not unlike the aviation industry in general, female participants are under-represented in CASARA so the occasion was also used to promote our efforts to attract and retain more female members. This event served both goals. 
Organizers reported just in excess of 1,000 attendees at the event. It is estimated that between 150 and 200 people dropped by the booth to either collect literature on display and/or to ask questions about the organization. It is estimated at least twenty-five people expressed a keen interest in learning more about the organization with the possibility of joining, some of whom were female. At least twenty parents introduced their daughters to SAR.
It is also worth noting that our location beside the Canadian Forces Recruiting booth and the Air Cadet Gliding programme also proved useful in drawing attention to the booth and served to highlight the strong association with our military partners. 424 Squadron had a static display (Griffon) on the ramp throughout the day. The Griffon crew, Captain Stef Pouliot and Major Chris Herten, took some time early in the day to drop by and say hello.
CASARA members who attended felt the event was certainly time will spent in serving one of our mandates – promoting SAR awareness and the organization in general to all who attended, particularly young women who were considering a career in aviation.