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Civil Air Search And Rescue - PEP Air - Victoria BC

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Civil Air Search And Rescue - PEP Air - Victoria BC

In British Columbia we are also known as PEP Air. For a Search and Rescue EMERGENCY, Dial 9-1-1 and ask for the POLICE.

Civil Air Search And Rescue Association (CASARA) is a national volunteer organization, providing air search mutual support to search and rescue (SAR) agencies in Canada. In British Columbia, tasked Search and Rescue teams can request airborne Mutual Support by contacting BC Ministry of Emergency Management at 1-800-663-3456. Request fixed wing, drone, or electronic search support from PEP-Air. PEP-Air Victoria CAPABILITIES:

In British Columbia, PEP-Air teams can provide air search capability for missing persons, vehicles, aircraft and equipment in wilderness areas, including rural roads, forests and mountains. PEP-Air Victoria aircraft can facilitate shoreline searches along our extensive coastline and around our many islands. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA flight teams can provide ELECTRONIC SEARCHES for ELT, EPIRB, PLB and cell phones. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA flight teams can provide RPAS DRONE search capability on the ground in localized search areas. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA flight teams can provide rapid INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT of roads, bridges, dams and remote facilities. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA flight teams can provide HIGHBIRD aerial communications over remote and mountainous areas with no cell service, to facilitate communications with those on the ground. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA flight teams can provide emergency TRANSPORT of personnel, dogs and specialized equipment. PEP-Air Victoria and CASARA can provide trained and qualified spotters to military, RCMP and contract helicopters.

10/21/2026

Our members from the Northeast Zone were busy training this past weekend in the Prince George, BC area. A message of appreciation from their Zone Commander:

Thank You for Your Participation in Our Mock Search Exercise

Dear Search and Rescue Teams and PEP Air Members,

On behalf of everyone involved, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Prince George Search and Rescue, Quesnel Search and Rescue, PEP AIR Northeast members, the Northwest Drone Team, and the Quesnel Drone Team for your participation in our mock search exercise held on October 17th.

The exercise simulated a downed aircraft and provided a valuable opportunity to practise our search and rescue procedures, strengthen coordination between teams, and work together in a realistic search scenario.

A special thank you goes to Lyle Larson and Matt McLean for their assistance in coordinating this effort. Your time, planning, and support were instrumental in bringing the various teams and resources together to make this exercise possible.

We would also like to extend our special thanks to the six members of the Rocky Mountain Rangers who participated as lost members and injured persons. Your willingness to take on these roles helped create a realistic and valuable training scenario, allowing the participating teams to practise locating, assessing, and assisting individuals in a downed-aircraft situation.

We greatly appreciated the time, dedication, and professionalism demonstrated by everyone involved. The cooperation between fixed-wing aircraft resources, drone teams, ground homing members, and role players highlighted the importance of teamwork, communication, and coordination when responding to an aircraft emergency.

Exercises such as this help us identify opportunities to improve our response, build stronger working relationships, and ensure we are better prepared when a real emergency occurs. Your commitment to training and supporting one another plays an important role in the safety and effectiveness of our search and rescue operations.

Thank you once again for giving your time, sharing your knowledge and experience, and contributing to the success of this exercise. Your participation made the day both productive and worthwhile, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.

With sincere appreciation and thanks,

Lou Dery
Zone Commander Northeast
PEP Air / CASARA

10/15/2026

The new air traffic tower at YYJ Victoria appears to be coming along on schedule. Earlier reports suggested that the new tower would be up and running in November.

10/03/2026

Robert Northcott received a Special Appreciation award today for his 14 years of dedication, professionalism and exceptional leadership as Area Air Deputy. It was presented by Fred Carey, Director General. Congratulations Robert!

08/30/2026

Weather enroute to the Sooke area, as part of our SAREX today, caused us to detour into Victoria Harbour airspace. Since we don’t do that very often, it was an opportunity for a few pictures of the city. Check out the antennas on the strut!

08/08/2026

Chatting with our friends from the mainland at the Abbotsford airshow! Nice tent 😄

08/04/2026

A good turnout and some recruiting opportunities at the second day at the BC Aviation museum open house. Undoubtedly the stars of the show were the Snowbirds.

08/03/2026

A lot of fun at the B.C. Aviation Museum yesterday. Today will be even better with the Snowbirds flyover around noon!

06/07/2026

The conditions yesterday were challenging, but the Victoria and Nanaimo crews raised to the occasion and successfully completed the Air and Ground zone eval. The air crew had a difficult ‘between the clouds’ track crawl task in the Port Alberni valley. they were re-tasked three times with a second track crawl, expanding square and an ELT homing. Great tram work and communication between the air and ground crews made the ELT target an easy one. Excellent job and congratulations to everyone!

05/17/2026

Great joined SAREX whit PEMO and Metchosin GSAR today. First aircraft found the target in no time. The second one stayed in the area and helped guide the teams on the ground towards the target. One aircraft was stood down due to the developing showers in the area.

05/03/2026

Good day at the 2026 Emergency Preparedness Fair today.

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