Natalie Gillis, of Calgary, sole victim in Albany plane crash

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Natalie Gillis of Calgary, the sole victim of a plane crash in Upstate New York on Monday, is being remembered by her family and friends as an adventurer with an independent and compassionate spirit.

Gillis, 34, was piloting a twin-engined Piper PA-31 when it crashed shortly after takeoff from Albany International Airport. Gillis was en route to Montreal when she experienced engine trouble.

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

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

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

Some of her adventures included “observing narwhals breach from the floe edge in Nunavut, trekking through the valleys of Baffin Island, encountering penguins and icebergs while sea kayaking in Antarctica, and experiencing the world from the bird’s-eye view of her favourite plane, the Twin Otter.”

Gillis, who was originally from Toronto, had a Canadian commercial pilot’s licence, according to the summer 2023 issue of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine. She flew charter aircraft at both poles for scientific expeditions, made grocery deliveries in Northern Canada, and supported adventurers, explorers and filmmakers.

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At the time of the interview, she was 500 flying hours away from meeting the requirements of an airline transport pilot licence.

Routinely off the grid on adventures, 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 just 25 days.

“I think what it is for me is a commitment to growth,” she said of her adventurous lifestyle. “It’s waking up and thinking, ‘I want to be slightly better than I was yesterday and the day before that.’”

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

Gillis was also a poet and held a master’s degree in creative and critical writing from England’s University of Gloucestershire. Gillis released her first book of poetry in 2021 titled This is Where Atlantis Sank, which she wrote while on a sailboat journey to the Antarctic Peninsula.

“We’ve never been so grateful for the odyssey she left behind, giving us access to her unique perspective of the world through her meticulous record keeping of her photos and poetry,” her family wrote.

“In her 34 years, she did not waste a second. This is Where Atlantis Sank — June 17, 2024, 8:15 a.m., 42.724997° N 073.790118° W.”

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