Wednesday, December 30, 2009, begins quite normally for
veteran Morobe bush pilot Richard Leahy, a household name in the rural areas of
Morobe province.
Morobe bush pilot Richard Leahy in happier days
in Lae…most of his body has been very badly burned.-Picture courtesy of PACIFIC
WRECKS
Leahy is known to live on a wing and a prayer, an unsung hero who in his own quite little way, has brought about so much development to rural
His Cessna 185 plane is appropriately registered as P2-MJL,
the initials of his father Michael ‘Mick’ James Leahy - one of Australia
He departs his
On arrival at Nadzab, he submits his flight plan for the
day, returns to his Kiunga Aviation office at the airport and sleeps until
5.30am.
He then prepares P2-MJL for the day’s operations and orders
the first load, which is to Baindoang in the rugged Saruwaged Range
These are loaded at around 5.45am.
Start-up is at 6am.
This is quite normal
with no sign of the trouble to come.
Take off and departure are also normal.
“Six people were tragically killed when a Cessna 185 fixed
wing aircraft, owned by Kiunga Aviation, crashed early yesterday in the rugged
Saruwaged mountain ranges of Morobe province,” The National reports on its front page the next day.
Body
bags at the crash site on Dec 30, 2009.-Picture by BUSTIN ANZU
“All six passengers, including two children, died instantly on impact.
“Amazingly the pilot Richard Leahy, who owns the third level
airline, survived but was in critical condition.
“The plane departed Nadzab and was headed for Baidoang
airstrip when it crashed.
“The charred bodies of those killed are now at the Angau Memorial
Hospital morgue in Lae while Mr Leahy
was evacuated to Australia
Leahy has been in intensive care in hospital in Brisbane
He is now wearing a head-to-foot burns suit and will
continue to do so until March 2011.
Last Sunday, Leahy finally comes out of his shell, saying
the death of six of his passengers on the ill-fated Cessna 185 flight in the
Finisterre mountains of Morobe province last Dec 30 is something that he will
live with until he dies.
Leahy is awaiting the outcome of a Civil Aviation Agency
investigation into why the engine failed that fateful day.
“I was released from the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
(RBWH) on March 26, 2010,” he tells me from Brisbane
“I was admitted after having been evacuated from Lae by jet
on the day of the accident, Dec 30.
“I remain an outpatient at RBWH and visit for treatment four
mornings per week.
“This will last until March 2011.”
I ask Leahy what he remembers about that day.
“Approximately seven minutes into the flight, I noticed the
oil pressure dropping off rapidly,” he replies.
“I immediately turned back towards Nadzab airport, but the
engine stopped soon after.
“I broadcast a mayday (distress call) to CAA at Nadzab and
tried to carry out a landing on rough country.
“I do not remember the impact, but clearly recall finding
myself on my back outside the aircraft with my legs in the fire.
“I managed to use my hands and arms to pull myself clear.
“My memory from that point on for twenty eight days is not
clear.”
And will he return to PNG, particularly his beloved Morobe,
and fly again?
“I do wish to return to PNG after my rehabilitation time
with RBWH is finished early March.
“I am and will continue to wear a head-to-foot burns suit
until March next year.
“This suit does not go well in tropical heat.
“At the moment my voice is not good and because of this I
would not be able to renew my flying licence.
“If this problem is rectified, I will resume flying.
“At this time and since the accident my business is being
run by my son Nicholas.
“He is living in my house in Lae.
“My sympathy goes out to the next of kin of those six souls
that were lost because of this tragedy.
“It is my hope that the problem that caused the engine to
lose oil pressure and stop will be discovered.”
It is common knowledge that while Leahy is in a coma in
hospital, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge – who lost close family members in the crash
- stirs up a hornet’s nest when he threatens to have the renowned and respected
pilot charged with manslaughter and deported from the country.
“Our Governor Luther Wenge is our properly-elected regional
member,” Leahy says when I ask for his comments on the matter.
“He like the rest of us is fully entitled to his say in
matters that concern him.
“He lost six relatives in the accident.
“I extend my condolences to the member and his family.
“I felt as soon as I became aware that he (Wenge) had made
them (comments) that they were unwarranted.
“I have conducted commercial flying operations in PNG but
mainly in the Morobe
Province
“During that time I have carried, whilst single pilot in
command, over 50,000 passengers - the overwhelming majority of whom were PNG
citizens.
“Up until Dec 30, 2009, the day of my accident, I had never
caused any injury to any of my 50,000 passengers.
“The fact that six died on that day will weigh heavily with
me for the rest of my life.”
Leahy said although this is an accident that he could not
have prevented, he is awaiting the CAA findings on why the engine failed on
that flight.
“If an aircraft is properly maintained and the pilot carries
out his duties in accordance with the set down procedures, aircraft engines simply
should not fail,” he says.
“Normally, there is some warning if an engine is developing
serious problems and remedial maintenance can be carried out prior to further
flight.
“With this particular failure, there was absolutely no
warning.
“During the 24,000 hours I have spent flying light aircraft
around PNG, I had had only one previous engine failure.
“I landed the aircraft in a lake and my two passengers and
myself escaped unscathed.
“The engine failure was due to bad maintenance and I
recovered monetary damages from the people that I had contracted with to carry
out my maintenance at that time.
“Needless to repeat, my thoughts have gone out to the next
of kin of those six souls lost on that day and will always remain with them and
those that were lost.”
No comments:
Post a Comment