About Us
Provincial Emergency Program Air (PEP Air)
Air Search and Rescue BC
PEP AIR is an associate member of Canada’s Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA). We work closely with 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron of the Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in Comox, BC and with BC Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR).
As a BC-wide volunteer aviation association we are dedicated to the provision of air search support to the RCAF for aircraft and related searches and to EMCR for missing person search assistance to local ground SAR teams as well as the promotion of aviation safety.
Our membership is open to aircraft owners and pilots and those who wish to become spotters, navigators, RPAS (drone) search team members and more. Members receive training in search techniques and in fields such as aviation safety, meteorology, survival awareness, and SAR technology.
In augmenting Canadian Forces and EMCR during SAR missions, members assume personal risk in challenging environments and adverse weather to help those in distress. Our members are on call 24 hours a day 365 days per year.
PEP AIR has over 50 aircraft and more than 300 members available to crew them. Our volunteers have volunteered more than 15,000 hours of their time in the last year alone.
PEP Air provides its members with:
- SAR Awareness and search and rescue training programs
- Air search support services
- Suitable aircraft
- An insurance package including personal accident and liability coverage
- Administrative support
- Reimbursement for aircraft operating expenses
- Reimbursement for reasonable expenses that members may incur
You will benefit from participation in PEP Air by receiving training from professionals that will improve your skills in one or more of several areas such as airmanship, safety, navigation and map-reading, wilderness survival, or technological areas such as image analysis and drones.
Management Team
The PEP Air team is dedicated to leading our volunteers located in British Columbia. These are the members who dedicate their time and effort into managing and leading the BC Member Organization to make successful search and rescue taskings possible.
Director: Fred Carey
Fred joined PEP Air in 1998 as a Navigator, progressed to Pilot and National Level Assistant Search Master and, for 12 years, to Deputy Director General (and is still a pilot). Fred retired from TELUS in 2014 after 35 years where his last position was Operations Manager, Applied Science Technology. Fred uses his expertise in cellphone and emerging radio technologies to be a leading resource in the development and use of cellphone location and drone search and rescue technologies for both PEP Air and CASARA National.
Deputy Director: Stan Owen
Stan joined PEP Air as a pilot in 1988. Stan's career was in maintenance management in the sawmill/plywood/co-generation industry where he earned a reputation for excellent relationships with on-site unions. Stan now enjoys ground school instructing to our up-and-coming commercial airline pilots.
Past Director: Alton King
Alton has been involved in Air Search and Rescue and PEP Air since 1979; first as a Spotter, then Navigator and Pilot. Over the years he has additionally filled positions as Area Air Deputy, Deputy Zone Commander, Zone Commander, Provincial Secretary/Treasurer, Executive Member, Deputy Director and Director General from November 2010 until retiring to a still busy and very involved Past Director General in 2022.
Secretary and Executive Member: Steve Van Wagoner
Steve joined PEP Air in 2006 as a spotter immediately after moving to Kamloops, quickly moving up to navigator then Area Air Deputy. He is "mostly" retired from a career as a Geology teacher and graphic designer. Having been "into" aviation for many many years, Steve recently earned his pilot license.
Executive Member: Keith Bjorndahl
Keith joined CASARA Saskatchewan in 1997, later joining PEP Air upon moving to BC in 2015. During those 27+ years Keith has held many crew positions including pilot. Professionally Keith is an IT consultant and software integration specialist with Accenture Canada.
Provincial Safety Officer (PSO): Keith Kepke
Keith joined PEP Air in 2008 and flies as a navigator. He has held many positions at the local, provincial and national levels. Keith is currently the Provincial Safety Officer as well as the CASARA National Safety Committee Deputy Chair.
Provincial Training Officer (PTO): William (Dan) Barraclough
Dan joined PEP Air CASARA in 2013 and flies as a Spotter and Navigator. In addition to the role of Provincial Training Officer, he keeps busy as SouthWest Zone Training Officer. In a career spanning more than 30 years in the technology sector, Dan has held roles ranging from General Manager to Executive Vice President of People & Culture. Though now retired, Dan continues to provide leadership development and coaching services on a consulting basis.
Assistant Provincial Training Officer: Pat McSorley
Pat joined PEP Air in 2014 after retiring from the RCAF at the rank of major. He brings a wealth of experience as SAR navigator on the Hercules and Buffalo aircraft (over 5,000 hours) as well as two postings with Joint Rescue Coordination Center, Victoria. Pat enjoys traveling the province teaching navigation, search coordination and other courses.
Assistant Provincial Training Officer: Paul Monchamp
Paul earned his pilot license through Air Cadets in 1976 and joined CASARA in 2000 as spotter, moving up to navigator, pilot and search coordinator. He has owned 5 aircraft over the years. Paul is a retired Vancouver Fire Department Captain with 30 years fire experience including 5 years on the Rescue Squad and Auto Extrication. Currently semi-retired, he is a truck driver and custom farm equipment operator as well as a volunteer with Abbotsford Flying Club and the Abbotsford International Airshow.
Provincial RPAS Officer: David Toddington
A pilot and aircraft owner, David joined PEP Air in 2014 and crews as a navigator on fixed-wing aircraft and is head of our Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Team. David is an internationally recognized expert in open source intelligence and for the last two decades has widely consulted on global security issues with government agencies and NGOs around the world.
