humanitarian aviation making a difference

N16BN on the GA ramp at MTPP

Just returned from a weekend trip to Port-au-Prince in a donated Queen Air. We were on a mission to find some generators that had been donated a few weeks earlier. Right after the earthquake the airport was overwhelmed with incoming cargo, and a lot of goods were misplaced, lost, or stolen. The generators were found, and will be doing duty at the Project Medishare hospital as backups to the units already running there.

Cockpit L-R: Alan Duval, Rymann Winter

The airport (MTPP) is now back under the control of Haitian ATC. There is no radar coverage, so you have to be sharp and proactive to ensure separation from other aircraft in the area. The ATC transmitter is weak, so you end up with a lot of transmissions being stepped on.

N16BN panel

The airport was out of 100LL so we had to stop at Provo (MBPV) in Turks & Caicos for gas. Winds were strong on the way back to Miami, it took 3 hours to make the trip. Landing in Opa Locka (KOPF) we had winds 25 gusting 30 right across the runway. The plane handled it no problem, it was rock solid all the way down. Thanks to Alan for giving me the left seat on this leg. And thats one more successful Haiti flight completed.