I was interested to read the list of accidents over the years provided by Sharpie and remember some of those that were lost - and it is not a complete list.
In my time in PNG I have kept a log of pilots that have worked for a particular company that I have had a long association with. Only six weeks ago I updated the list and moved it to a spreadsheet where it's easy to move things around. Because of this I selected those that I knew were no longer with us (in the wider sense) and posted them in their own column. I suddenly realized there were quite a few. I divided their number by the total list and was staggered at the ratio of those that didn't make it.
Not all, but most, died in PNG in the same line of work. I didn't realize that what we are doing now appeared to be as dangerous as the early days of agricultural flying.
I made a comment about my findings as a few other pilots came into the room. A young, relatively inexperienced, pilot looked at me as if I was odd and said "Why would you bother to mention such a morbid thing." My reply was "Perhaps so someone like you is reminded of the fact that this job is dangerous and might be safer because of it." It didn't seem to make a difference to his outlook though. Pity.
Perhaps I shouldn't bother with such things but perhaps that's also why I have made it to the twilight of my career, with PNG being the place I have done most of my flying. Call me odd but I'm still alive in PNG.
Last edited by EBCAU; 22nd Aug 2009 at 07:58.
Reason: Grammar