? re Convair 580 drug bust mid '90's in PQ.

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Pratt
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? re Convair 580 drug bust mid '90's in PQ.

Post by Pratt »

Doing some research, no, I am not planning on getting into that business. :D But looking for a link to articles or other info having to do with the drug bust back ( any names or a/c registration, etc.) in the mid '90's in PQ where the pilot flew to the wrong airfield with a load of cocaine, had to hang around and subsequently got busted for it.
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smokeater
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Post by smokeater »

The Cv-580 was ex gx, the pilot is quite an infamous glider type
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Post by Siddley Hawker »

You're correct that it was an ex GX Convair, still painted in it's white and red AC Connector colours. It had it's original Canadian registration repainted back on it. I can't remember the pilot's name, but it wasn't the guy you're thinking of. They left some place in Columbia or Venezeula and came up the Atlantic seaboard, out over the water. The USCS picked them up southeast of Florida somewhere, but wouldn't touch them over international waters. They came ashore over New Brunswick or Nova Scotia someplace, then up over Gaspe, and eventually landed in Parent, Quebec. The CAF was unto them by then, and just after they landed the Mounties and the Surete Quebec nailed them.

That same morning when all this shit was going on, I left Wabush for Montreal, via down over Baie Comeau and Riviere du Loup in a white and red F-27. Unbeknown to us, our transponder had packed up, so the only radar return anybody was getting was a skin paint from Bagotville military. At the same time the CAF was tracking the Convair from over Gaspe to west of Baie Comeau, we stumbled across their track in a large white and red twin turboprop with no radar ident. We had the number two radio on 121.5, but didn't hear a thing until the cabin attendant came up front with his eyes poppin' outta his head. All he could do was point out the right hand cockpit window, going "look, look!" About fifty feet off the right wingtip there was a F-18 with everything hanging out trying to slow down enough to get a positive visual ident on us. We called Montreal center and got the story of the "unknown rider" they were tracking.
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Post by talkinghead »

Siddley Hawker

Thats a cool story. 8)
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Post by highlander »

I think back in 1995 or so it was parked in Ottawa. I remember seeing it parked in the weeds and it was mentioned how it was flown heavily overweight and full of drugs. I believe there was structural damage. Apparently on the left hand side by the cockpit there is a maple leaf that was painted on by the people down south (columbia?). If you looked at it carefully you could tell there was something odd about it because it didn't look right.

We climbed all over it but couldn't go inside.
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Post by nite_owl »

My F/E pointed it out to me the other day on KFC's ramp in Calgary. Can't remember the registration though. Sweet machines those 580's!!

Ya just gotta love those rotating sidewalks!!
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Post by Inverted2 »

I heard it was had a bunch of drums full of fuel in the back so it could make the non-stop flight, and a guy would go back and transfer fuel into the main tanks during flight.
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Post by Pratt »

Thanks for the info guys, all good stuff. I am also looking for the name of the pilot who was flying. If anyone knows and you don't want to post it, send me a PM with the info.

Great story SH, just what we all have dreamed about to have happen in our career, being intercepted by out countries finest. :lol:

Thanks
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Post by 29chev »

With regard to the KFC side of it ...a friend of mine (lets call him John) who flew for KFC on the CV580 was called by the big boss to go out and pick up a so called airworthy 580 to fly VFR back to BC from out east. He was told it was not IFR certified so take all the time he needed and just fly back over several vfr day legs.... When he got there he found out it was the machine in question and the police had used wire cutters to slice through the wireing harness, maint. had re wired engin controls and basic radio for comms but that was about it he promply turned down the flight until a few more systems were re-wired and returned to the west part of the country without it. Some other brave aviator went flying and completed the trip a few days/or weeks later but it was not John.
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Post by shitdisturber »

nite_owl wrote:My F/E pointed it out to me the other day on KFC's ramp in Calgary. Can't remember the registration though. Sweet machines those 580's!!

Ya just gotta love those rotating sidewalks!!
That wasn't the infamous drug plane; that's the military VIP version of the 580, the Cosmopolitan, registration 109151. The couches in the old bird were quite comfortable to sleep on when you were on midnight shift. 8)
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Post by Flying Newf »

That birds spirit lives on in all of KFC's 580' s and 5800's, trust me Barrie had that thing scattered everywhere. Even the engines are on something out there. Which you might think what's the big deal, other then the lack of any log books or trace ability. :twisted:
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Post by JATO »

His name is Raymond Boulanger. I know a guy that flew with him in the 70's in northern Quebec for Air Gava.

There was a program on TV a few years ago where he was interviewed by Paul Arcand (maybe you can get a copy of the interview by writing to arcand@tva.ca). He had just gone out of jail; he then looked very calm and quite smart also...

By the way, when he did this trip, he had taken off from Columbia and finally landed at La Macaza airport, an abandoned military field north of Mont Tremblant. Look under the following links...

http://www.lacpaquet.ca/english/airport.htm

http://www.mtia.ca/en/index_about_media.cfm

I thought the aircraft was a Convair 340 tough, but I might be mistaking...

JATO
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Post by DA900 »

Here is some more info on ol' Jean


'The Cowboy' caught cashing cheque
Last Updated Sat, 10 Aug 2002 13:41:19
MONTREAL - Jean Raymond Boulanger, the jail-breaker and drug smuggler known as The Cowboy, has been rounded up – cashing a cheque.

Boulanger is a pilot who came to public attention in 1992 after military aircraft chased his twin-engine plane for 10 hours.

Starting in Colombia, he put down in Casey, Que., 250 kilometres northeast of Montreal, and made off through the woods.

But he was caught, and the 4,000 kilograms of cocaine in the plane drew him a 23-year sentence.

Boulanger left a halfway house in 1998 after winning day parole, and returned to Colombia. He may have been kidnapped by Marxist rebels there, or maybe it was a feud with leftist guerrillas over drug profits.

Whatever the case, he was freed on $100,000 US ransom, and Colombia extradited him to Canada in March, 2000.


FROM MARCH 5, 2000: Colombia hands over Canadian drug smuggler

In July 2001, after 15 months in jail, he escaped again, this time from a federal minimum-security prison.

Until Wednesday, that is. After 13 months on the lam, police nabbed him as he tried to cash a cheque in downtown Montreal.

Boulanger was arraigned Thursday on charges of escaping custody, and was ordered back to jail.

He'll be eligible for parole in 2011.

He is not considered dangerous and has never been convicted of a violent crime.
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? re Convair 580 drug bust mid '90's in PQ.

Post by linecrew »

When the first attempt was made to fly the Convair out of YOW after sitting idle for years at the north field, it almost ended in disaster when on the takeoff the flaps went to full by themselves. The crew managed to nurse it around the patch, looking much like a smoking wheelbarrow, to a safe landing. It flew out successfully (somewhat) a day or so later.

I got to sit in the jumpseat for the compass swing with B.E. and the taxi up from the north filed to the Shell FBO. The maintenance crew had a sense of humour about the aircarft's past and at some point during its restoration the name "Snow Queen" appeared in small letters on the nose. To funny!
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Post by Pratt »

Thanks for all of the replies. Very informative.
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hehehe

Post by rhumrunner »

i worked on it in ottawa what a mess. trying to get it airworthy.it is now sitting in kelowna.
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Post by ....... »

JATO wrote:By the way, when he did this trip, he had taken off from Columbia and finally landed at La Macaza airport, an abandoned military field north of Mont Tremblant. Look under the following links...

Actually, he landed in CASEY, which is an old abandonned military field...
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Post by Panama Jack »

What I don't understand is what made the aircraft so valuable to get it airworthy again to fly it out? Sounds to me like it was a suitable candidate for parting out or cutting up for scrap.
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Post by 29chev »

Panama Jack
Flying it was just the easest and fastest way to get the parts to where they were needed.
Nothing but pieces now.
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Post by JATO »

Actually, he landed in CASEY, which is an old abandonned military field...
Merci pour la précision... I tried to find the location of the old Casey airport, but no luck there. Anyone knows exactly where it is?? Coordinates lat/long would be nice...
The GPS face had been smashed but I showed him how to extract the previous flight plan and gave him the exact Lat and Long of the point of departure
Good job there clunckdriver, but you should have asked $$$ for this info. Don't say it too loud or you might have some crazy columbian drug dealers knocking at your door someday... :wink:
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