Canada’s Last Passenger Electra Story and Photos by Henry Tenby
Airliners Magazine, Fall 1991

Back in late 1990, I got a call from my good friend and fellow aviation journalist Ken Swartz with a story scoop. NWT Air of Yellowknife was about to retire the last of their Lockheed Electra’s and would I be interested in doing the article?

Ken put me in contact with the company’s General Manager Grey Cooper, and arrangements were put in place for me to travel up to Yellowknife to document the very last day of NWT Air Electra operations on February 1, 1991.

Not only did I have a fabulous visit riding the aircraft’s sked up to Coppermine and Cambridge Bay on that last day, the visit also provided me with the opportunity to meet a number of the airline’s key staff. I was also able to shoot video of my visit which is available as a top selling aviation DVD.

Later that year when my aircraft leasing job came to an end with Corsair in Bellevue, WA, I was able to leverage my contacts at NWT Air into what would become a six year employment stretch with NWT Air, based and living in Yellowknife! Anyhow, here’s the article from Airliners magazine that started it all.