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Yup, that’s big A lla n W ISHA RT/ Fre e Pre s s
The Antonov-124 which landed at Prince George Airport dwarfs the seven helicopters which would be loaded onto it before it continued on its flight to Angola. The Antonov-124, the third-largest plane in the world, made full use of the new long runway at the airport. ALLAN AL A LLA LAN WI W WISH WISHART ISH SHART SHAR ART AR allanw@pgfreepress.com allla a lanw nw@p w@p @p pgf gffreep gfre g reeep press reess.c .com com om
They were lined li d up on the th far far side siide d off the apron at Prince George Airport on Friday morning. Seven helicopters, their size clear by looking at the people near them. Those seven helicopters were waiting for their ride, as they prepared for a trip to Angola, to be used in ferrying people and supplies around the African country during its election. Anything that could fit seven full-sized helicopters comfortably would have to
be pretty prreett tty big. big. bi g. The The he Antonov-124 Ant nton nton ono ov v-1 -124 24 fit ffits its tth its it hat at be that desccri desc de ript ptio ion. n. description. “It’ “I t’s tth he third-biggest th hirdd bi b gg ggest airp rplane in n the th he “It’s the airplane world world, ld ” Brian B ia Br i n Mycroft M crofft off Vancouver My Vancouver world,” Island Helicopters said. “We have contracts to supply helicopters to Angola, and we’re putting seven of them on that plane.” This wasn’t Mycroft’s first sight of the Antonov. “I saw it at Vancouver Airport, and we were in Angola doing the same job during their last elections, and the Antonov was there then.” Prince George Airport Association
presidentt and de and d CEO CEO EO John John oh hn Gibson Gibs Gibs Gi bson bson on said saaiid the th he dent Anto onov la nding d g in n Pri ince Ge G orge to pick k Antonov landing Prince George the helicopters helic li optters was a big big momentt for for up the the airport. “It’s big for us. It helps us build that long-term commercial-business case with other clients.” The landing was also a practical demonstration of what was possible with the new runway at the airport, the thirdlongest in Canada. While an Antonov-124 landed here in 1995, it couldn’t take off with a load on the old runway. “We do need the big runway for some-
tthing thin th hiin ng li llike ike ke tthis,” hiiiss,” h s,” Gi G ibson bson bs on ssaid. aiid. d. ““We’re We’r We ’re tr ttryry y-Gibson ing to ing in to ttell elll the ell the co th ccompanies omp mpan mp an nies ies who who supply wh supp su ppl pp plly y the the he mini mi ning ng ccom ompa pani nies es aand nd tthe he p pip ipel elin ines es ttha hatt mining companies pipelines that th h d ’’t need d tto lland d att Ed t they don’t Edmonton or Vancouver and truck their equipment in. “They can land right in Prince George.” He and Mycroft agreed this was a definite win-win situation for the airport and the company. “We support all the initiatives at Prince George Airport,” Mycroft said. “We do all our training here, and we’d like to see the airport prosper.
■ LUCAS DEGERNESS DISAPPEARANCE
Facebook tip turns search to Vancouver DELYNDA PILON newsroom@pgfreepress.com
It was a week filled with hope for Gina Degerness after a Facebook tip lead her to Vancouver in search of her son who has been missing for five years. Gina last saw Lucas after taking him to Prince George Secondary School to meet with the vice principal about his grades. He was supposed to head back to class as Gina continued to speak about arrangements for summer school with the vice-principal, but when they went to check on him following their discussion, he was nowhere to be found. She scoured the school and near-by mall
with no luck. Police later found he’d spent the night with a friend, however that is the last confirmed sighting of the boy. A press conference last month marked the date of is disappearance five years ago, and though that may have elicited some tips, Gina said the one that took her to Vancouver came through a Facebook friend. “What happened is a friend, every few days since the date of his disappearance, reposts it on her wall,” she said. The friend has an extensive ‘friends list’ along with contacts with various organizations. About 45 minutes after Lucas’s age enhanced image
was available on-line, a lady who works at a Costco in Vancouver sent a message to this friend and said the man in the sketch came into the store regularly. A girl who works in a nearby restaurant passed on a similar tip. Another man said he’d seen the person in the sketch walking down Powell St. “I just got laid off from work and had two weeks to myself. My daughter was going to be in Prince George. I had to check it out for myself.” One of the tips turned to be a dead end. turn to PAGE A3