PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Readers help in identifying certain PNG airstrip
Old 18th Aug 2019, 01:43
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Beez51
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sydney
Posts: 18
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I suspect it would be Tapini. That aircraft was never recovered. After it was stripped pretty much the floor and lower fuselage remained for many years. The locals found uses for the aluminium. Pretty much ended up as BBQ plates I think. All other CC08s were recovered except the one in the Kudgeru gap. All of these accidents pre dated my time in PNG which started in the early 80s. The approach into Tapini was via the goat track ILS as one of the earlier posters mentioned. You kept level with the track on the RHS of the aircraft. You then turn 90 degrees and lined up with the strip. Lots of dead ground in the approach and easy to go in short which is what happened. The story I heard (and although this is a rumour network it maybe total BS) was that bloggs was flying and the QFI was a chain smoker and in those days with an SPH4 helmet, would have had the ciggy in his mouth at an angle with the microphone fairly close. Said QFI had the cigarette fall out on short finals onto his leg and with the distraction of him trying to beat it out, bloggs went in short. Of course who would like to explain all this to the BOI? I think the QFI was Jack Ristrom who would go on to suffer a number of tragedies in PNG.

The accident at Porgera was a go-around on a one way strip past the safe goaround point due to workers on the strip. The aircraft crashed past the strip whilst trying to turn left and out climb the hill. The RAAF left the aircraft there for long enough for Ansett to salvage the engines. When they came back they thought the locals had stolen them. The aircraft was recovered by a 12SQN Chinook. I'm lead to believe that the tax payer eventually got the engines back when they showed up a HDH Bankstown some years later and the RAAF resident engineer recognised the serial numbers.

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