Recently we had a request from the government to fly a team of seven people into a village in order to issue the villagers some official identification cards. These ID cards are very important when you go to any town or city, especially if you need to get medical assistance.
This mission was going to require four shuttles, so it was a great opportunity to fly a checkout process with each of our young pilots. Salomo Lehmann did the flight preparation for the 1st flight. As usual there were a few changes to the plan as medical evacuations were needed near the area we were going to. We had planned to leave early in the day, but the weather in Wamena was suboptimal so we were delayed a bit. Via the HF radio we heard good weather reports from the area, except for the village of Humaling where there was a 4-year-old girl with a broken arm.
Salomo and I took off for our first flight. After passing the mountain range we could see that, despite the dark weather and the rain, visibility was good. However, we decided to postpone the flight to Humaling until the 2nd shuttle hoping the rain would dissipate. So we headed directly to the village of Lulum. This village sits next to a river, so we used the riverbank as our landing zone. It was raining and cloudy when we arrived, but good enough to land safely. Once all the passengers and equipment had been unloaded, we headed off to get a few patients.
The closest spot was Wibi where we picked up a patient and two of her family members. Then we continued to Tangumsili where we picked up another patient and some family members. The flight back to Wamena was much easier weather wise and we could head back directly. We landed at the hospital in Wamena, dropped off our patients and their companions, then headed back to our base.
There we swapped pilots and Maichel got to join me for the second shuttle. The rest of the government team and their equipment had to be flown to Lulum. This time, as we had hoped, the weather was improving and the rain had stopped. We dropped off the team and equipment and decided to head to Humaling to get the girl with the broken arm. As we approached the village, we saw that the landing zone was totally overgrown and no people were running out, which is unusual. We double checked our coordinates, and we were at the right spot. So we called our base in Wamena and let them know that we hadn’t found them and that we would be coming home. However, I had a feeling that we should look just one more time, so we flew a little further down the valley. After passing a ridge we saw another village with an airfield project. We decided to land and check if this was the spot. Fortunately, this was where the patient was waiting. Praise God! Her arm was broken above the elbow, but she smiled at me as we walked to the helicopter. She was in pain for sure, but she was a very brave little girl. We took her to the hospital and are hoping that she will get full use of her arm again.
The team stayed in Lulum for two nights and then Dyro and I went to pick them up. They asked to be dropped off at an Elelim airfield, so Dyro got to do both shuttles. The weather was much nicer on this day, and after loading the team and equipment I told Dyro that I’d stay in the village and he could fly solo to Elelim and back. He was excited to do that. I hung out with the villagers of Lulum and swapped stories. After about 45 minutes I heard a commotion. A man was yelling “flood, flood, we’re getting a flood.” I went to see, and he showed me the water flowing in a different spot. His experience told him that the water would rise and we would have to move all of our stuff. I asked him how long it would take as I didn’t want the landing zone to be under water by the time Dyro came back. He really didn’t have an answer. I took a measurement and there was a noticeable change in the water level before Dyro got back. We had to move our gear twice due to the rising water. It’s amazing how these villagers can detect what is happening around them. Dyro was able to land on dry ground and we all headed back. We dropped off the team at Elelim and headed back to our base in Wamena.
It's great to see these young men advancing in their pilot skills and having a heart to serve here in Papua. Thanks to all of you who pray for our safety as we fly: the terrain and weather we have to deal with as pilots is very challenging. Thank you also to all of you who support Helimission. With these donations lives are being saved.
Matt, Pilot
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