Merged: APNG Twin Otter Missing

[Exaviator]

I have read with interest some of the comments posted regarding the demands of flying in Papua and New Guinea and having first hand experience with the conditions there, agree with most.

My own experience started in 1962 arriving POM at 0630 off the TAA DC-6 night flight from Sydney, only to be met by my then new employer who announced that he was off to Kokoda and that I should come along for a “Look see”.

That flight amounted to my route total endorsement over the Owen Stanley’s!

It was apparent that in order to survive one had to quickly learn the rules of flying in that demanding environment, and over the next eighteen months I managed to learn enough to survive logging 1200 hours flying somewhat aged Cessna 180s and 185s throughout the country.

The most important rule learned was that no matter the weather and the route flown you ALWAYS kept a back door open – a means of escape or alternate plan for that time when the chips were down and things went against you.

Some years later I returned and logged another 1000 hours flying a Twin Otter for TAA over the same routes. A much more suitable aircraft having the reliability of turbine engines, more power and IFR capability.

BUT THE SAME RULES STILL APPLIED.

Any pilot that ignored this basic rule was flirting with the risk of finding him/herself flying into “Cumulo Granitus”.

We will probably never know exactly what happened in this case but one thing is for certain, that at some point the crew of this flight ran out of safe alternatives. It is a sad but true fact that New Guinea aviation has claimed many lives over the years and will probably continue to do so - it is the nature of the beast.