Saskatchewan grounding 3 wildfire planes that are same model as one in N.W.T. crash

Saskatchewan is pausing three planes from wildfire missions because of a fatal crash involving the same aircraft model in the Northwest Territories.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says it’s conducting a full review of the three bird dog planes out of an abundance of caution. 

It says Saskatchewan still has four bird dogs available to support wildfire suppression across the province.

Three people were on board a Turbo Commander 690 that crashed near Fort Simpson, N.W.T., west of Yellowknife, on June 24.

All three were killed.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says in an investigation update that the plane suffered an in-flight breakup before hitting the ground.

“The safety of our pilots, crews and the public is our highest priority,” Marlo Pritchard, president and fire commissioner with the Saskatchewan safety agency, said in a news release Friday.

“While these aircraft are critical to our wildfire response operations, we are taking a proactive approach to ensure their continued safety and reliability.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will return the aircraft to service only after all required inspections have been completed and any necessary follow-up actions have been addressed.”

A bird dog plane is used as an airborne command centre to co-ordinate firefighting operations. 

Fort Simpson has been under an evacuation order because of a threatening wildfire since June 28. 

On Friday, Buffalo Airways identified the pilot killed as Robert MacLeod. It says his career spanned 25 years and he served as a bird dog captain for Buffalo Airways for the past three seasons.

A social media post from NWT Fire earlier said firefighters Olivier Lamy and Ryan Beck also died in the crash.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2026.

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