Plane pull photo - Adam Riley

Members of the Thunder Bay community came together for the Wasaya – United Way’s fifth annual plane pull was held on September 23, in support of United Way of Thunder Bay and the Northwestern Ontario Indigenous Youth Achievement and Recognition Awards.

The event took place at Thunder Bay International Airport, at the Wasaya hangar.

More than 10 teams of 6-8 people had 3 attempts/rounds at pulling a passenger airplane weighing more than 26,000 pounds, 50 feet down a runway.

After round three, times were added up with teams being split into divisions with the top two teams in each division competing in one final pull.

26,000 Lb De Havilland Canada DHC-8 – CJ Goater

Albert Brulé CEO of Thunder Bay United Way highlighted that their theme is united in local love and pulling together to address issues of poverty. “These teams are literally pulling together to pull a 26 thousand pound airplane.”

Action getting underway at plane pull – CJ Goater

This is the return of the airplane pull as it has not been held since the Covid-19 pandemic with the last plane pull occurring in 2019.