Papuan airspace poses extra challenges for pilots
The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Papua's unfriendly typography, old and poorly maintained aircraft and fast-changing weather are the extra challenges pilots flying in the province have to face and air accidents are common.
Already three have taken place this year, claiming the lives of 32 people with five others missing, presumed dead.
In the first crash in February, 15 people died when a police Cassa 212 aircraft nose-dived into an estuary meters in front of Papua's Sarmi airport. Two months later, 17 people were killed when a GT Air Twin Otter aircraft crashed in remote area of Panaia.
In the latest accident in October, an Indonesian Air Force helicopter went missing along with its four crew and a civilian passenger near Jayapura. The location of the helicopter and crew still is unknown.
"In the aviation world, Papua's geography and weather conditions are considered risky and pilots must be skillful and wise enough to make quick decisions," Papua Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) program manager, Douglas Allirch, a Christian missionary who is also a pilot, said.
Safety considerations like the decision when to fly was of utmost importance since passengers were at risk if pilots were hasty or reckless.
""If pilots don't want to fly in bad weather, they are considered professional for protecting passengers. If I look behind and see the passengers, I know their safety is in my hands, so I have to be wise. If I return to base due to bad weather, they would surely be disappointed, but to me they still have a future because they can continue flying the next day. The important thing is that we're safe today," said the U.S. citizen.
In spite of the pilots' experience, air safety is also supported by mechanics on the ground.
"The maintenance team wants us to be safe, so they won't allow any faulty aircraft to fly. They continually check for flaws, replacing them with new spare parts. So, the pilots and mechanics form a solid team for the sake of air safety," Allirch said.
Like other pilots, Allirch feels worried about flying but as a missionary he puts his life in God's hands.
Having worked with MAF in Indonesia for 15 years, he first arrived in Bandung in 1990 with his wife Karin and son Evan, who was two years old at that time. In the city, he and his family learned Indonesian for seven months before leaving to Pontianak to work as a mechanic-cum-pilot for MAF.
Working in Pontianak, Kalimantan, for 12 years, they moved to Papua in 2002, when the MAF program was halted after 30 years in the city.
MAF is an international Christian Missionary organization aiming to spread Christianity among tribal people in remote areas who are not able to be reached by land. If a place develops like Pontianak, MAF stops its operations there and moves on to other areas.
In Papua, MAF, with a fleet of 14 aircraft consisting of 10 small Cessnas and four Cessna Caravans, has already provided services to remote areas for 51 years.
Prior to be assigned to fly in Papua, MAF pilots are required to undergo special training.
In his three years of flying in Papua, Allirch once had a strange experience transporting a wounded man during a tribal war in the remote, mountainous area of Nalca in Bintang.
At that time, MAF was requested to transport a wounded man shot by an arrow to Jayapura.
Confused about where to land his plane in the middle of a battle, he sent a message to ask for the clearance to land.
"The battle stopped immediately when I came down. We then carried the wounded man onto the plane. But the moment the plane took off, they resumed fighting. I was confused but at the same time felt strange facing the situation."
Allirch has two children, Evan, 17, and Kelsey, 15.