The pilot of a small plane that crashed near the Canadian town of Faro, Yukon recalled the moment the ultralight aircraft hit an 鈥渋mmense downdraft or a windshear鈥� that caused it to lose altitude and flip before striking the treeline and colliding with the snowy ground on Jan. 26, 2025.
鈥淚 was doing my best to recover from the way the wind positioned us,鈥� Matthew Carpenter said by phone on Feb. 11, 2025.
鈥淏ut at that point I didn't have enough altitude, so we, you know, hit the trees pretty abruptly.鈥�
Carpenter is the pilot of the Chinook Plus 2 that crashed. He reached out to the News to share his account of what happened when the plane went down and his gratitude for the U.S. military from Anchorage, Alaska and Canadian search-and-rescue teams that rescued him and his passenger.
Most of his life has been spent living in the Yukon. He grew up on a trapline along the Macmilllan River.
As a self-described Yukoner with many different skills including trapping, outfitting and building, for years Carpenter has worked for Macmillan River Adventures, a hunting outfitter company that he said Donald Trump Jr. 鈥� the son of U.S. President Donald Trump 鈥� has invested in as a part owner.
Carpenter was not working for the company at the time of the flight.
He made the trip out with his friend on Jan. 25, 2025. The two had planned to return the following day.
They spent the day out preparing for the trapping season, as Carpenter said he does every winter.
Carpenter described the next day as having calm weather before takeoff 鈥� 鈥渘ot even a breath of wind.鈥� He had flown in and out many times. The plane was built for landing on deep snow conditions, he said.
At approximately 4 p.m., while flying in a valley about three-quarters of the way back to Faro, the plane started encountering turbulence, he said. That is when the wind flipped it upside down. Carpenter tried to recover the plane, but by that time, they were too low, and the plane hit the trees before crashing into the ground.
His passenger was not too badly hurt, but Carpenter鈥檚 leg was seriously injured. A self-assessment at the time determined it was broken in multiple places.
Carpenter explained how the two men have learned to be resourceful while spending lots of time in the bush prior to this recent journey.
His friend helped create a splint for his leg. Then he constructed a shelter out of the plane鈥檚 wing covers, used a small electric chainsaw to cut firewood and got a fire going. They had food, warm clothes and something to melt water in on-hand.
By then, Carpenter had activated SOS on his inReach, a satellite communication device that allows users to send messages and share their location when out of cell phone service zones.
鈥淲e started receiving responses from that which was really encouraging,鈥� he said.
The stranded men were notified that the search-and-rescue effort was going to be a multinational response, depending on whether the American or Canadian authorities could most practically respond the quickest, per Carpenter.
But they soon realized they would not be saved before sunset as the darkness set in.
Carpenter described it as a painful night, but his friend鈥檚 support made him feel as comfortable as possible.
About 10 hours after soaring into the trees and smashing into the snow-covered earth, they heard a helicopter off in the distance. The chopper dropped in very professionally, Carpenter added. In fact, it was a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk from Alaska. These types of helicopters can make day or night recovery operations in hostile environments, according to a United States Air Force fact sheet.
In the meantime, Yukon RCMP from the local police detachment and Yukon conservation officers arrived just in time to carry his stretcher down the mountain to a place where the military helicopter could land to in turn get them out of there.
Carpenter commented on the Canadian authorities joining the U.S. responders involved in the operation.
鈥淚t complemented the other response very well,鈥� Carpenter said.
Corporal Bayden Austring, the detachment commander of the Ross River-Faro RCMP, said police received an SOS activation after the plane crash. He was off duty when he got the call from his colleague about one person 鈥渃ritically injured.鈥�
鈥淭he first thought was I knew it was going to be a long night, given the location and that there were survivors,鈥� Austring said.
鈥淚t was a no-turning-back situation.鈥�
The crash was believed to have taken place near Faro, based on the GPS coordinates 鈥� latitude 62.38639 and longitude -133.64958 鈥� transmitted through Carpenter鈥檚 satellite communicator.
鈥淭hankfully, inReach devices are almost pinpoint accurate,鈥� Austring said.
鈥淲e knew exactly where they were and were able to make a plan from there.鈥�
The fallen aircraft鈥檚 transponder did not go off upon impact or by being manually activated. Austring indicated that the system going off would typically signal a potential emergency to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
RCMP notified Joint Rescue Coordination Centre-Victoria (JRCC-Victoria) about an ultralight aircraft crash near Faro at 4:13 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2025.
RCMP connected with Yukon conservation officers before taking off as a group of five 鈥� three RCMP officers and two conservation officers 鈥� on snow machines to assist with the air rescue. Austring, Corporal Cam Long and Constable Noah Rochefort of the RCMP went out together with conservation officers Cody Schmidt and Parker Antal that evening.
It was Schmidt鈥檚 first plane crash response since starting in Yukon conservation officer services in 2008.
Like Austring, Schmidt said he felt ready for this type of mission based on his training and preparedness.
Austring explained how the group readied itself for up to 72 hours in the winter wilderness.
They brought snowshoes and had pre-prepared kits including a stove, shelter-building materials and fire-making supplies.
The weather was relatively warm at +1 C compared to the depths of Yukon winter temperatures that had recently passed. Brush and blown-down trees atop thick snow provided obstacles along the way.
The crew took off from Faro at around 9:30 p.m., travelling six kilometres 鈥� as far as they could 鈥� by snowmobile before trekking another seven kilometres on foot. By that point, at around 2 a.m., they made visual contact with the crash site.
鈥淚t was like an absolute honour,鈥� Austring said about the joint mission.
鈥淚'm grateful we could help to reunite them with their loved ones.鈥�
None of the authorities involved in the rescue operation identified the rescued individuals to the News, citing a lack of knowledge, policy issues and privacy concerns.
A search-and-rescue duty officer ordered the U.S. aircraft to launch in response to the crash in the Canadian territory, according to Alaska National Guard State Public Affairs Officer David Bedard.
鈥淛oint Rescue Coordination Centre-Victoria requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER),鈥� Bedard said by email.
鈥淭he 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer dispatched the HC-130J Combat King II and the HH-60G Pave Hawk, both with 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen onboard following a request from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at JBER that in turn had received a request from JRCC-Victoria.鈥�
The HC-130J Combat King II is a fixed wing search and rescue plane. Per the U.S. military website, the plane is capable of refuelling helicopters in midair, allowing for long flights.
Following the rescue mission, the HH-60 made a precautionary landing in Faro, where it safely landed, per Bedard. The cause of the precautionary landing was being investigated. Bedard said by email that the helicopter needed repairs but is expected to be 鈥渇ully mission capable鈥� after its return to its base.
As part of the operation, Bedard noted 144th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster IIIs flew in and out of the Whitehorse international airport 鈥� the closest airport that can accommodate the plane 鈥� to help move personnel. That type of cargo aircraft can do tactical airlifts and airdrops and transport patients.
In a piece Bedard wrote for the military, he put the Faro crash about 550 miles (885 kilometres) east of JBER and about 250 miles (just over 400 kilometres) from the Alaska-Canada border.
鈥淎n Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook, assigned to B Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, made the flight from JBER to Faro to bring 176th maintenance crews necessary parts. A regular Air Force C-12 Huron light passenger and cargo aircraft assigned to 517th Airlift Squadron also supported the repair,鈥� Bedard wrote.
Bedard stated the HH-60 returned to JBER on Feb. 6, 2025.
The cross-border co-operation occurred amid tense geopolitical times between Canada and the U.S. as President Trump threatened tariffs on exports to the U.S. from Canada and repeatedly talked about Canada becoming the 51st state.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai suggested that kind of talk will not get in the way of people working together on search-and-rescue operations across the border.
鈥淚'm not concerned at this point that there wouldn't be collaboration between our provinces and our territories and states or countries on things such as search and rescue," Pillai said.
Sub-Lieutenant Simon Gonsalves, a Canadian public affairs officer with the Maritime Forces Pacific, could not comment on how often these types of events occur, in which the U.S. responds to incidents in Canada.
"Which agency responds is generally determined by the proximity of the event to the nearest relevant asset,鈥� Gonsalves told the News by email.
Carpenter said his experience acted as a reminder to be careful in 鈥� and ready for 鈥� the backcountry.
鈥淚t's a bit of a wakeup call,鈥� he said.
Carpenter calls it a miracle that they survived. He believes God protected him and his passenger that afternoon. He was mentally prepared to live longer in the frigid wilderness, but the inReach device was a game-changer, he said. He expressed his appreciation for the people who rescued him in the midst of a Yukon winter.
鈥淚 just want to thank everybody that was involved in it for the effort that was put into getting us out of there,鈥� he said.
鈥淚've helped with, you know, putting action plans together for getting in and finding people. I've never been on this side of it.鈥�
As of Feb. 11, 2025, Carpenter remains on the mend. He has been told to expect a full recovery.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
