GORDON-BARRIE ISLAND—Facebook has been very active in the past week or so with rumours regarding military aircraft sighted in several areas around Manitoulin Island, including Ice Lake. However, there is no truth to the rumours, according to the manager of the Gore Bay-Manitoulin Airport.
“The military loves the Gore Bay-Manitoulin airport and uses it for training flights and practice,” said Robby Colwell, manager of the airport. This came after a report by a local resident last week that a CF-130 military aircraft was circling the air over Ice Lake. And a few days earlier everyone on Manitoulin, it seems, saw a CF18 fighter plane flying over various communities on the Island.
In the case of the military fighter plane, “I talked to the pilot on the radio, and he explained he was just doing a touch and go flight,” said Mr. Colwell.
As for the CF-130, “this was part of a training flight,” said Mr. Colwell. “No, we are not at war with the US,” he quipped. “The military conducts training exercises and they do this all the time in the area, flying low and dropping parachutes for example. The military loves to do these training exercises around Manitoulin Island.”
