Natalie Gillis, of Calgary, the only victim of the Albany plane crash

Content of the article

Natalie Gillis of Calgary, the lone victim of a plane crash in upstate New York on Monday, is being remembered by her family and friends as an independent-spirited and compassionate adventurer.

Content of the article

Gillis, 34, was flying a twin-engine Piper PA-31 when it crashed shortly after takeoff from Albany International Airport. Gillis was on his way to Montreal when he had engine trouble.

“Natalie leaves us too soon, but hers was a life truly well lived,” her brother Matthew Yap posted on Facebook.

Gillis, a professional wilderness guide and acclaimed photographer, spent more than a thousand days “living, sleeping and caring for clients in remote areas of the world,” according to her family.

“She had a deep love and curiosity for wild and natural places, which led her to seek out the breathtaking moments that so many of us miss in the busyness of our everyday lives,” they wrote in an obituary shared with the National Post Office.

Content of the article

Some of her adventures included “watching narwhals head off the shoal in Nunavut, hiking through the valleys of Baffin Island, meeting penguins and icebergs while kayaking in Antarctica, and experiencing the world from a bird’s eye view of her favorite airplane, the Twin otter.”

Gillis, who was originally from Toronto, had a Canadian commercial pilot’s license, according to the summer 2023 issue of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine. She has flown charter planes to both poles for scientific expeditions, made food deliveries in northern Canada, and supported adventurers, explorers and filmmakers.

Content of the article

At the time of the interview, she was 500 flight hours away from meeting the requirements for an airline pilot’s license.

Typically off the grid, Gillis told the magazine that when she was starting her aviation career, there was one calendar year where she slept in her own bed for only 25 days.

“I think what it is for me is a commitment to growth,” she said of her adventurous lifestyle. “He wakes up and thinks, ‘I want to be a little bit better than I was yesterday and the day before.’

She told the magazine that her dream trip was to kayak the Inside Passage from Bella Bella, BC to Alaska. “I discover more about myself when I’m just alone in the wilderness,” she said.

Gillis was also a poet and held an MA in creative and critical writing from the University of Gloucestershire in England. She released her first book of poetry in 2021, titled This is Where Atlantis Sank, which she wrote during a sailing trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.

“We have never been more grateful for the odyssey she left behind, giving us access to her unique perspective on the world through the meticulous preservation of her photographs and poetry,” her family wrote.

“In his 34 years, he hasn’t wasted a single second. This is where Atlantis sank – June 17, 2024, 8:15 a.m., 42.724997° N 073.790118° W.”

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, long reads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, The Post, here.

Share this article on your social network