Fort Smith, N.W.T., mother says husband's love persists, 1 year after crash that killed him and 5 others

The wife of one of the six people who died when a plane crashed and caught fire near the airport in Fort Smith, N.W.T., says she can't believe it's been a year since the tragedy happened. 

"I feel lost," said Bev Chepelsky. 

"Joel is somebody that just made everything OK, you know, if you're having a bad day … losing him, it's really hard 'cause I don't have my friend, my husband, to help me feel OK." 

Chepelsky's husband, Joel Tetso, was on the Northwestern Air Lease plane that crashed shortly after taking off early in the morning on January 23, 2024. The aircraft had been bringing a crew of workers to the Diavik diamond mine. 

There were seven people on board and only one survived the crash.

A candlelight memorial has been planned at St. John's Anglican Church in Fort Smith starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to mark the anniversary of the crash, and to remember the community members who died. 

Chepelsky said her husband, a father of three, is already remembered and talked about every day. She described him as a devoted dad, an outdoorsman who provided for the family, and a hockey player. 

Tetso worked two-week shifts at Diavik as a heavy duty mechanic. He called his family every day during those stints, said Chepelsky, and every time he left Fort Smith for work he'd gently wake his daughter Yevah and his sons Avery and Brody to tell them that he loved them. 

"My kids know, with everything, that their dad loved and adored them. And Joel also left knowing he was loved and appreciated," she said. "His love is still in our house." 

Transportation Safety Board investigation continues

The N.W.T.'s chief coroner previously told CBC News the plane, a British Aerospace Jetstream aircraft, crashed about 500 metres from the end of the Fort Smith Regional Airport's runway. 

Four passengers and two Northwestern Air Lease crew members were killed, including 24-year-old flight crew member Paszolo Alba, and 30-year-old heavy equipment operator Howie Benwell. 

Benwell's sister, Crystal Benwell, said it's been a difficult year marked by ups and downs. 

"Howie is greatly missed," she said. "He had this awesome presence about him, it was like a healing presence because he was always funny and he knew how to cheer up people. Was really hard to deal with that, being taken away ... without expecting it." 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada told CBC News this week it's still investigating what happened.

Sophie Wistaff, a media relations person for the board, wouldn't say when a final report would be coming out, but that investigations of this nature were generally done in 450 days – about a year and four months. 

Wistaff said it could take longer though because of the "complexity" of the investigation and delays "during various related activities." 

The board said the plane's wreckage is still being stored in a secure place in the Edmonton area.

Memorial event planned in Fort Smith

Fort Smith Mayor Dana Fergusson said she hopes the memorial event Thursday evening will bring closure to those in the community who are looking for it. 

The plan, she said, is to ring bells at 6:42 p.m. as a way of marking the moment – at 6:42 a.m. – that the crash happened. 

Fergusson said Fort Smith, a community of about 2,500 people, is a tight-knit place and that the disaster rippled through everyone in the community.

"Whether you knew them directly or indirectly, you've been impacted in some way by the loss," she said.

Fergusson said the day of the crash started out like many others, with her household preparing to go to work and to school. Then, she started to get reports that something had happened. 

Fergusson, a town councillor at the time, headed to the municipal office and checked in with its senior administrative officer before heading to the airport. There, she was tasked with providing drinks and food to the people and responders.

She said her own son was initially scheduled to be on the plane, but he had switched his flight earlier in the month. 

Fergusson is thankful to the community of Fort Smith and beyond for the outpouring of support that happened after the crash. 

Chepelsky, as well, is holding on to a feeling of gratitude — both for the two decades she had with her husband, and for the way her community has wrapped itself around her family. 

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else … going through what we're going through," she said. "They help in ways they don't even realize that I need."