The often-Polar climes of Canada’s Northwest Territories are served by Buffalo Airways, a family-run airline that has become famous as the subject of the long-running TV reality show Ice Pilots NWT and subsequent YouTube series Plane Savers. The manager of the airline, and one of the show’s stars, is Mikey McBryan. The show ran for six seasons, and became popular across the world, being shown on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and Quest in the UK, United States, Australia, and beyond.

McBryan was at the centre of the action in most Ice Pilots episodes. He endeared himself to fans with his relaxed managerial style, often acting as the good cop to his father Joe’s bad cop in situations. His in-depth knowledge of aviation and his local area saw him engaged as an aircraft consultant on the award-winning Canadian drama Arctic Air. The show was about an unorthodox, family-run airline in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, so it was more than fitting that McBryan’s expertise were sought — the show practically described his life!

Although his dad, “Buffalo Joe” McBryan was a committed pilot who bought Buffalo Airways from his boss, the younger McBryan never had any designs on flying. Instead, he elected to keep his feet firmly on the ground, studying business at university and preparing himself to take over the day-to-day running of the airline. Since the success of Ice Pilots NWT, however, he has also forged a media career. His YouTube channel boasts nearly 75,000 subscribers and hosts his series Plane Savers, in which he and his crew battle against the clock to restore old planes.