An Unexpected Late Afternoon Mission in Timor-Leste
When a pilot joins a new program, they spend quite a few weeks flying with someone else. At first, they observe the experienced pilots as they fly, and then they take control of the aircraft, with another pilot sitting beside them. This training allows the new pilot to fully understand the procedures being used in their new home, as well as learning about some of the challenges that flying in each new location brings. Learning from more experienced pilots in a particular area helps a new pilot to fly in a safer manner.
Timon Kundig relocated to Dili, Timor-Leste in May 2017 with his wife Jen and two young daughters. The family feels God’s calling to work with MAF in Papua New Guinea, after both working there previously. Their time in Timor-Leste fills a critical staff need for the program, while giving Timon a chance to increase his flying hours before they move to Papua New Guinea.
As part of Timon’s induction training, Chief Pilot of the Timor-Leste program, Marcus Grey, spent time flying with Timon each day. Visiting new airstrips, becoming familiar with the terrain and the areas to be aware of surrounding each airstrip is all important in a pilot’s training. On June 13th, it had been five months since Timon had last flown an GA8 Airvan and so the plan was for some training exercises to occur at Baucau, an airstrip to the east of Dili.
Timon and Marcus departed from Dili just before 3pm in VH-MTX for Timon’s first flight as Pilot In Command Under Supervision in Timor-Leste.
They had finished doing some circuits at Baucau and were returning back to Dili when they received a message from the control tower that a medevac call was received by the MAF staff in Dili. A medevac flight was needed in Los Palos, a remote location in the far east of the island of Timor. The other aircraft was being used in Atauro Island, and could not reach Los Palos before last light restrictions. It was simply too far to go in the time they had available. So after some discussions between Marcus and Timon and calculations made to ensure they had sufficient fuel and time to carry out the flight safely, they turned the plane towards Los Palos, just twenty minutes flying time away to collect the two passengers and bring them to Dili for the medical attention they required.
Chief Pilot Marcus Grey was thinking at the time, “This is dropping Timon in at the ‘Deep End’. It is quite late to go out to the furthest airstrip from Dili. This isn’t how I wanted Timon’s training schedule to go!”
Timon recalls, “I remember feeling like being on a mission, we had gotten a call and we were responding to the need. … I did wonder how we were going to handle a medevac, as this was my first one, prior to this one I had only been an observer a few times. But I faced the unexpected by focusing on the task of flying.”
Timon and Marcus arrived at Los Palos at 4.38pm knowing that they had just two hours before their flying time for the day would be over, as MAF is only able to fly during daylight hours in Timor-Leste. Timon describes the events that occurred at the airstrip in Los Palos, “Initially there were only a few people and no ambulance. The small crowd that was there was focused on taking selfies with the aircraft. We waited. I prepared the required paperwork and then we spent time chatting to pass time. Half an hour later the ambulance was heard and quickly seen rushing to us. The driver was driving frantically as he approached the aircraft, Marcus signalled to him to drive slowly a few times whilst guiding him where to park. The driver was distressed. As soon as the car stopped the doors opened everywhere and a flood of people came out of the car towards the rear door of the plane.”
It was at this time that Timon realised that there were, in fact, three passengers to be transported to the National Hospital in Dili, not two, as they had planned for.
Two passengers had been involved in a vehicle accident and their injuries were significant. The patient on the stretcher had a bandaged lower leg, which was bleeding through the bandage. He seemed to be unconscious and numerous other wounds as well as his injured leg. The man sitting in the seat had a broken femur, he was bleeding from the wound as well. A third passenger, an elderly lady, had unknown injuries but was able to move around unassisted.
The medevac flight back to Dili maintained 2500 feet, in order to give the patients maximum oxygen levels. VH-MTX departed Los Palos at 5.25pm for the fifty minute flight home to Dili. After take off, Timon recalls, that there was “a commotion in the back. I looked to see that the guy lying down was kicking the broken leg of the guy sitting! The nurse was trying to manage the situation as best as she could. After that, I turned my attention to flying. My responsibility was to get these injured people to Dili safely. The noise stopped soon after and it became calm. I occasionally checked the patients to see them resting. I took a few moments to pray for them especially the guy on the stretcher. I prayed for God’s mercy on their lives.”
The plane landed safely in Dili, at 6.12pm, about half an hour before last light restrictions, where two ambulances were waiting to transport the three passengers to the hospital.
As the ambulances headed off to the hospital in a darkening sky, Timon and Marcus were able to pause for a moment after such a dramatic first flight in Timor-Leste for Timon. The pilots were joined by another pilot, Jason and MAF Timorese staff member Aldo, who worked together to clean the aircraft. The significant blood loss from the passengers had left a mess on the stretcher, straps, seats and floor. With a charter flight booked for the next morning, it took some time to clean the plane well, and by the time the paperwork was completed, darkness had fallen over the airport.
This training flight was not what the pilot or Chief Pilot would have desired this early in the training schedule, but this is what MAF pilots train for and do often. Transporting sick and injured patients to the hospital is their job description, but their role also includes treating distressed patients and family with kindness, ensuring the safety of the aircraft and people, and praying for their patients in the midst of busy and often chaotic situations. It is in moments like these that MAF pilots transform the lives of isolated people every day.