Administrators at Calgary’s Mount Royal University say they have chosen to ground the planes in their fleet that are of the same model type as the one involved in a fatal crash last month.
Two flight instructors, Jeff Bird and Reyn Johnson, died in a plane crash on February 13.
The two men were flying in a twin-engine TECNAM plane when it inexplicably went down in a wooded area west of the city shortly after takeoff from Springbank Airport.
The Transportation Safety Board is still investigating what brought down the plane but they do know that whatever happened, it happened quickly.
Students have since returned to class following the incident but, on Thursday, staff at the school said they would not be using their two remaining TECNAM planes until the TSB investigation has been completed.
They say the decision was made independently by their board and neither Transport Canada nor the TSB told them to do so.
Now, the aviation program will be limited to using its five single-engine Cessna aircraft, so there will be a crunch to make sure all 66 students get the flight time they need.
Luc Sinal, an aviation student at the school, says the decision to ground the TECNAMs will delay their flight training.
“As we’re all in different spots in our flight training, the school is helping us finish as soon as possible. Each student is in a unique situation and the school is working with us to help that.”
He said the students are disappointed with the decision but understand and accept why the school made it.
“It will delay the process but we still do have two functioning aircraft and the school is looking at getting a couple more so we'll be okay. It will delay our training but our school is doing a good job of being accommodating.”
Sinal said that he and all of his fellow students feel safe in the TECNAMs.
Leon Cygman, with the MRU aviation program, said the school ‘does not compromise on safety’ and they want to be sure they have all the information they need before making any decisions.
“We are going to be keeping the TECNAMs on the ground and fully evaluate all the information that will be coming to us through the various agencies.”
He said that the decision to ground the TECNAMs was made prior to the media update on February 27, but they wanted to ensure all the students were informed before they announced the decision.
Cygman says the students do need to have training on twin-engine planes to graduate and staff will look at leasing some of those aircraft for students to use.
“We are going to be leasing two other planes and we’ll compare the performance of those planes to the performance of the TECNAMs and we’ll make the best decision moving forward.”
Cygman says they will be partnering with some of the other flight schools that fly out of Springbank Airport to help their students succeed.
He said the requirement for leasing will incur additional costs, but those will not be transferred onto the students.
The program’s wing ceremony will be taking place on April 29.
(With files from Brad Macleod)