Dan Pagotto

young grasshopper · Post by **young grasshopper** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:43 pm

Dan Pagotto was the definition of a modern-day Bush Pilot. A born-and-bred Northerner, Dan always dreamed of flying the Twin Otter. Starting his career at Air Tindi in the early '90's, Dan progressed up the ranks and became a Twin Otter Captain. There was no work Dan wouldn't do. He genuinely loved to fly. Wheels, Skiis, Floats...5 miles, 50 miles, 500 miles...no trip was worth passing up. He was well liked by customers, and was a great mentor...especially to new FO's on the Twin Otter. No Camp Kitchen was safe from Dan (I still don't know what kind of a mod he had on his stomach to consume such vast quantities of food). He loved to eat. He lived and breathed Air Tindi. As a devoted AvCanadian, he loved this forum and was a regular poster (Giving lots of great advice to many of us). Sadly, Dan passed away last year at the young age of 45 years old after a courageous battle with Lymphoma. Showing us his warrior-like character, he never lost faith that he would one day regain his medical and fly the Twin Otter. His last Flight was as a Dash 7 Captain with Air Tindi. He left behind a wonderful Wife and three beautiful children who he loved dearly. I thought that there were many people who were unable to make it to his memorial last year, and thought I'd post the video a few of us put together for his service. Special thanks to flynfiddle, Pat S, Brian M for their help, and those who submitted photos/videos for the slideshow (I'm sure you'll enjoy the flyby at the end)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkYJ9Q0t ... annel_page

For those who knew Dan, feel free to post any stories about Dan...theres a bunch out there waiting to be told!

Dan's wife Kim will be running in the Nike Women's Marathon and Half Marathon for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Team and is accepting donations at:

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?re ... Pref=en-CA

Please show your support for not only a fellow AvCanadian, but a fellow Aviator.

Thanks.

raven54 · Post by **raven54** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:01 pm

Good for you Kim! I still think of Dan all the time, missed by all.

Just another canuck · Post by **Just another canuck** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:54 pm

I only met him once... he was sick at the time, but I'll never forget how positive of an attitude he still had and the smile he was wearing. I couldn't help but think how strong of a person he must have been.

Video well done... I'm sure he hill never be forgotten.

red-neck · Post by **red-neck** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:09 pm

YG

Thanks, I haven't been back to the Knife in awhile and this brought back a lot of memories of flying with Dan.

J Roc · Post by **J Roc** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:58 pm

I think of Dan a lot...he was a larger than life personality and it's hard to believe he's gone. That's how I remember Dan; larger than life. He was the guy who would enter the coffee room and you would stop what you were doing and just listen. Whether it was a story of something funny that happen the night before or a situation that occurred in the field with a camp grunt or a new coie...he just had a way about him.

I can't believe he's gone.

We had a lot of good times and a shit load of good laughs!

There's no one way to sum up Danno. He was one of a kind, a hell of a guy and a friend.

He'll forever be missed.

Thanks YG.

raven54 · Post by **raven54** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:24 pm

I said before he was gone that he was the captain I learned the most from. For instance, when you are both consumed by, well, consuming vast amounts of pasta...It is a good idea for one set of eyes to watch for small stray a/c such as hercs...damn things pop out of nowhere. Good thing they were watching!

spagetti · Post by **spagetti** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:02 pm

Great job on the video guys it is appreciated for those of us that could not make the memorial.

Thanks.

Brings back great memories and great times flying all over the Arctic with Dan. Serengeti sunglasses and the phrase "how she go".

young grasshopper · Post by **young grasshopper** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:56 pm

Thanks for all the responses guys...I think J Roc sums Dan up best when he said "he was one of a kind". I think it was pretty classy of Tindi to name Tindi 601 (C-GMAS) "Danny Pagotto". Everytime I hear ole '601 in the air, I think of Dan and how much he loved flying...didn't matter where/when/with who - he was always game. I remember once I was a loady on the Dash 7, and after loading about 10,000lbs of chain link fence in 90lb bundles (the ones where it was overkill to have two guys lifting a bundle, and you didn't wanna look like a rookie struggling to carry one by yourself...but you did) over the course of an hour, we finally got settled in to do the trip (To Colomac...I think its around 140 miles?!?!?). It must have been around 6:30am and all I could think about was going to the back of the A/C for a 1/2 hour nap...anything to pass away another day of ramping. The sun had risen about 15 minutes prior, calm winds - all the lakes were still glassy, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Just after we rotated Dan turned around (jean-jacket and all) and said "Jeff, isn't this a beautiful day to be flying?". I couldn't believe how anyone could be excited about such a brutal load, for a 45 minute flight. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that sometimes you just need to sit back, relax, and enjoy life one minute at a time. Thanks Danno.

captainsweaty · Post by **captainsweaty** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:23 am

Great work on the video

Thanks

" LADS!...... how she go?"

X Driver · Post by **X Driver** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:27 am

Nice post young grasshopper, Its nice to see a true aviator remembered.

Scuba_Steve · Post by **Scuba_Steve** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:58 pm

Dan was one of my mentors my first summer on the ole' 2-Otter. And Kim, his girlfriend at the time, was a classy lady I enjoyed working for when I was on the ramp.

Dan and I shared the same taste in books, and would often trade them back and forth. I still own the last one I lent him and came to fetch shortly before I left YK. I think of him every time I see it on my bookshelf.

In the time since I left yk I've run into numerous people who've had some stories to share about Danny Paggato.

Cheers

Scuba

Oncearampie · Post by **Oncearampie** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:13 pm

Great work on the video...once again this is the web site of Dan's wife Kim who is running in the Nike Women's Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Walk for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Team In Training. Feel free to visit her site and see a picture of Dan. I am so glad I had the privilege to have flown with Dan...I wish all of you could have met him. He was truly a great aviator.

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?re ... Pref=en-CA

young grasshopper · Post by **young grasshopper** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:42 pm

Thanks again for all the replies. Once again - Kim's run is taking place in October '09 and it would be great if anyone could take a few spare moments of their time to donate to this great cause. It only takes a few moments and can be done quickly even if you don't do online banking often. Thanks to everyone in advance!

North Shore · Post by **North Shore** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:31 pm

Sad - sounds like a great guy. My condolences to his family and friends.

As a devoted AvCanadian, he loved this forum and was a regular poster (Giving lots of great advice to many of us).

Regular poster? What was his handle?

young grasshopper · Post by **young grasshopper** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:15 pm

Before the avcanada "crash" (of...'04?) I believe his handle was Polaris...but I don't know what he changed it to.

raven54 · Post by **raven54** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 7:02 am

Already one year today since Dan Pagotto passed away.

"The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul."

Sleep easy, and clear skies Danno.

just curious · Post by **just curious** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 9:14 am

I never flew with Dan. But a lot of our copilots, being ex-Tindi, did. They were as a rule the most fun to fly with. My cojo on the Ice, knowing that going to the Ice was on Dan's bucket list, got him a jacket from down there, and post-poned a needed vacation to spend time in the 'Knife with him.

Pilot's when we aren't driving, bitch about things wx, maintenance, wages, our boss, other companies... you get the drift. I've never heard anyone bitch about Dan. To the new Tindi kids, when you start in on some aspect of your company, try to remember a couple things especially once you move on: The company Christmas parties, The "Dinner with Dan", and the naming of MAS.

Every company can do things better. In this case, Tindi did good.

terryc · Post by **terryc** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:09 am

Hi - I grew up in YK and moved away in 1991. I worked with Danny as a property assessor there for a few years before Danny moved to the career he really wanted to do. I had unfortunately gotten out of touch with Danno for a lot of years obviously, googled his name today to see what he was up to and was totally shocked to hear about his tragic loss, and the loss to his loving family.

I lived across the street from Danny (48th street where all the Wardair pilots lived in the 60's) and got to watch him grow up. One thing not noted on this forum is that he played hockey for the Medicine Hat Tigers until he injured his shoulder and was one of the best defenceman I have seen - a commanding presence on the ice. Am happy that Danny excelled as a pilot. I used to go flying with him after he got his private licence and he sure had a lot of aviation adventures and misadventures. Was he still as bad of a prankster as I knew him to be?

My sincere condolences to Danny's family. He lived a big life. Can't believe he is gone.

Terry Cumming
Melfort, Sask

Flybabe · Post by **Flybabe** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:56 am

Great job on the video!

terryc · Post by **terryc** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:14 am

Very touching YouTube video!

P.S. to my previous post - Danny played for the Medicine Hat Junior Tigers AAA Midget rep team which is pretty darn good. I know that he played there with some players who went on to play in the NHL.

Terry

HS-748 2A · Post by **HS-748 2A** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 1:33 pm

Never knew the man but it was a wonderful tribute.

Thanks for posting.

'48

stratcat · Post by **stratcat** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:21 am

It is always a shame when someone that young passes away. It makes you realise how important a positive environment is,how short life is and what effect we have on people(good or bad).The important stuff isnt how good of pilots we are,what piece of iron we fly or how much money we make.What is important is what effect we have on people and how we will be remembered, because thats what we leave behind.It is nice to see all the positive comments on here.

I thought Dan played for the Portland Winterhawks

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