Casara Niagara

10/18/2026

10/18/2026

Training today included Ground Homing. Two crews of three members each departed Niagara District Airport searching for a Simulated Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). The target was placed at the right side of a foot bridge (white object). The crews coordinated between them, triangulation of the homing signal to pin-point the ELT. Job well done; honing skills that are essential when someone is having a bad day.

10/18/2026

CASARA Niagara members Denise Egglestone and Andre Kalev represented CASARA at the Girls Take Flight event at Billy Bishop Airport today. Opportunity to inspire young women toward volunteering with Search and Rescue, or toward a career in aviation.

10/10/2026

Thankful to be part of a larger team of CASARA members who are passionate about helping others in a time of dire need.
AI used for the photo was to sharpen the focus; nothing else.

10/05/2026

Recently CASARA Niagara added three members as "Participants in Training" which means they've attended Orientation Session, and interview. CASARA receives multiple inquires of interest online, many from student pilots looking to build up their hours. Unfortunately training as a SAR pilot requires significant amount of hours as a "Pilot In Command", and basic CASARA training in order to be part of the SAR Team. At CASARA Niagara typically new members do not fly in their first year, and pilots typically take 2 to 5 years before training as a SAR pilot. Willingness to learn is the key asset.

09/19/2026

Regular training season is back after summer break. Today's Ground Homing exercise took us to the Bruce Trail. Apology for no photos with crew, but I was the "Rabbit Runner" (person who gets going earlier in order to put the target out). The black bag in the tree contained a training Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) which transmits both 406 and 121.775 signals. Our CASARA Niagara crews tend to use the PLB for its 121.775 signal which is "weaker" than if we used what an aircraft's 121.5 Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) carry. Sharp skills to find this one's location in just over 2 hours.

09/19/2026

Coywolf Aviation | Private Jet Charters‘s Dassault Falcon is lined up and ready for Niagara 5000’s The Hangar Experience at Niagara District Airport tomorrow. ✅

08/24/2026

As a non-profit charity, operated by all volunteers, CASARA Niagara (also known as CARES Niagara) has for the fourth (4th) time in a month experienced flooding of our facility at Niagara District Airport. And just over a year ago we raised funds to replace our furnace because it had been flooded out the previous year. The building cannot continue to sustain this kind of damage, nor can we afford to replace another furnace. We need other options. The water comes from over-flooded drainage ditches, and the building gets completely surrounded with water, hence no amount of pumping can stop it.

08/02/2026

TEMSAR 2026 took place July 24-26 based at Earlton Airport, north of New Liskeard. CASARA Zones of New Liskeard, Thunder Bay, North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie, plus members of CASARA Ontario. Was a great weekend of training, with 15 flights, each coordinated with ground crews. Friday the New Liskeard Zone was able to join 424 Squadron, Hercules 602 for spotter training. Much appreciation for the dedication and commitment of CASARA volunteers, to be ready at a moments notice to assist those in need.

07/29/2026

Niagara-on-the-Lake flooding July 28 hit the Niagara District Airport hard, and consequently the CASARA Niagara building experienced significant flood damage. 146 mm of rain came in less than six hours, and with water surrounding the building no amount of pumping could keep water out. As a non-profit charity of community volunteers this is a difficult situation.