Documentary ‘Airborne’ takes flight at Moose Jaw museum

A new documentary titled Airborne is shining a spotlight on one of Saskatchewan’s most remarkable medical and aviation stories: the 1948 mid‑air birth of Leon Dubreuil aboard a Saskatchewan Air Ambulance.

Filming recently took place at the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Moose Jaw, home to the Norseman aircraft CF‑SAM — the very plane at the heart of the story.

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WDM Moose Jaw Operations Manager Karla Rasmussen says the story focuses on “a special life that came into the world in the air.” Marie Dubreuil experienced complications during labour and was flown to a larger medical centre.

“But unfortunately, Leon decided to make his announcement into the world sooner than the landing would accommodate, and he was born mid‑air,” she said.

Rasmussen says the aircraft is one of the earliest used by the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service, launched in the 1940s.

“This may be the first air ambulance service in the entire world that was not a military type of destination type thing,” she noted. “It’s quite a special thing that was a Saskatchewan first across North America for sure.”

Having the documentary film crew on site brought a noticeable buzz to the museum.

“There’s always a little bit of extra electricity in the air when we have a film crew or photographer come,” Rasmussen said. “To be able to be a part of this documentary has been wonderful.”

Rasmussen has worked at the WDM for more than nine years and says CF‑SAM has long been one of her favourite artifacts. She recalled the moment she first saw the aircraft appear in the National Film Board’s Wings of Mercy.

“I got so excited — there’s that plane. I know that plane,” she said. “It’s not just the static thing on display in our galleries. This was its past. This was a working plane.”

The Norseman played many roles beyond air ambulance missions. Smokejumpers in northern Saskatchewan used it as firefighters parachuted from the aircraft into remote areas to combat early forest fires. Its versatility made it a true northern workhorse.

“It has wheels, it has skis and you could also put float pontoons on it as well,” she said. “Lots of different ways this plane could land and get into those places that were hard to get to.”

Rasmussen noted that the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service is celebrating its 80th year, and she believes this milestone helped inspire the documentary.

“I think this was some of the genesis in the documentary getting started — telling this specific story in honour of that major anniversary,” she said.

The WDM hopes to host a screening once Airborne is complete.

“We are hopeful that at some point we’ll be able to show the documentary, hopefully in our aviation gallery,” Rasmussen said. “Possibly with [the filmmaker] coming to speak a little bit more about the film she’s been working on.”

As production continues across the province, viewers can expect more details soon about when and where the documentary will be available.

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