Ben Wilhelmi

Random pictures, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

One of my previous jobs, pilot at Flying Medical Service. Real bush flying as this airstrip implies.

 

 

Technology discrepancies...

 

Fishermen casings around Pemba islands.

 

Waving at friends... I will never forget these experiences in such balloons. Here in Ruaha NP.

 

 

Not a car from the company I fly for! we meet interesting dodgy companies out there...

 

One of the ferries between Zanzibar and the mainland.

 

Many rivers flow in Tanzania, here is the Luwego.

 

A young woman in Zanzibar.

Different cultures and religions...

A young girl in the bush.

 

Old pictures with Flying Medical Service

I'm faffing around through my old pictures from 1999, the year I arrived in Africa, here in Tanzania.

 

One of my first proud Masai warriors posing for me. Impressive guys for a newbie. Greater Serengeti.

 

A village in western Tanzania, Kasulu.

My colleague Steve on take off, Olpirikata, Sanjan plains.

The stunning lake Natron, I couldn't Believe such a marvelous and stunning place could exist. Rift Valley.

Teenagers are the same everywhere.

A Flying Medical Service Cessna 206 on landing.

Me on my first time in the bush, Olaika, Greater Serengeti.

FMS has a knack for the craziest and or most beautiful places to land and operate. Olorbelin, lake Natron, Kenyan border.

My second emergency! This man had been dragged into a brawl with cow thieves. An Arrow landed through his forehead to his lower jaws. He sufefred a momentary speech impediment but sadly lost one eye. I had been in Tanzania for 2 weeks ...

 

Landing with a strong crosswind, Ngaresero, Bottom of the Rift Valley. The mountain is the active volcano Lengai. Another stunning place to operate into.

I was using a great SLR film camera, a Minolta X700 which I still use once in a while.

Flying Medical Service, a little emergency story

Someone could write a book with the 30 years of bush flying, emergencies and other work Flying Medical Service has accomplished in Tanzania.

One example?

There was that Maasai warrior who had been attacked by a lion. The large paw had ripped off the man's throat, including the vocal cords, breaking the jaws....Pat, our director-manager-pilot, flew him to Nairobi where a US surgeon was training local doctors. A nice coincidence.

One nurse tried to reassure the patient that everything was to be fine, that the scars would be invisible. The man got agitated but couldn't speak.

While on recovery, the Maasai was spotted rubbing salt on his fresh scars!
Scars are indeed extremely important in Maasai culture. The more spectacular the better. That explained the agitated status and the salt rubbing. Scars are gold but with a subtlety: those scars have to result from some form of bravery. Lion scars in the back for instance don't count, that location means you were running away. No glory, go to bed.

Funny enough my scar due to a mountain bike accident while speeding down a steep hill brought respect. Go and figure to compare that to a lion scar...

Aviation pictures, Tanzania

 

My airplane waiting for me in the Ruaha nat’l park. I like those sunrise take offs for one reason: the ride from camp takes 40 min in the dark, there is hope to see other type of wildlife, the nocturnal ones like aardvark, honey badgers, pangolins (the graal those ones)…

 

Impalas on an airstrip.

 

Some of my side activities on display.

 

Muddy landings in Seronera. I luckily was the 1st one to land after a serious downpour, so I quickly jumped out of my plane to wait for and shoot these followers.

 

 

In Zanzibar, palm trees and an airliner…

 

My colleague on take off in Ruaha nat’l park. I’m standing one km away which explains the heat distortion on the aircraft.

 

Another day, another colleague, another aircraft.

 

My days with Flying Medical service. Some airstrips were special…

Yes, that’s the airstrip behind the tail. The ladies are sheltering from the rain.

Flying Medical Service, clinics in the bush, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service operates 2 Cessna 206s.

An old picture: I had been stranded in a Masai village, Pininyi on lake Natron shores. The problem was a jammed starter. Pat Patten, the manager-founder, had come to rescue me with a new starter. A night in a Masai village can be interesting.

 

A one-legged man leaves the clinic after some treatment on his stump.

 

Babies receive their drop of polio.

 

A nice ‘medical’ hut in the Rift valley.

 

An airstrip near an active volcano named Lengai.

 

In this place, Oleparkashi, the clinic takes place under the wing. Notice the scale hanging from the wing.

 

A man goes home, probably quite disappointed. Nothing we can do for his elephantiasis on the legs.

 

Patiently waiting for the doctor.

 

Another hut, a different view of the volcano Lengai.

 

The last 2 pictures were shot on slide film with my lovely Rolleiflex.

Flying Medical Service, outreach clinics

 

Lake Natron, Flying Medical Service uses there 6 airstrips, out of which only one has a decent dirt track. Here in Monik, the doctor works under the wing to benefit the shade. 40C is common out there.

 

 

The precious scale, a great indicator of a baby’s health.

 

A mother receives a tetanus jab.

 

 

A patient is being brought to the airplane.

 

 

clinics with Flying Medical Service

 

Alongside vaccinations, weighting babies is quite important. Baby weight progression is a good and cheap indicator of health.

 

Maasai women attending clinics.

 

 

Once in a while, a patient can’t be treated in the bush and has to be flown to hospitals. This kid had Burkitt’s lymphoma and unfortunately didn’t survive.

 

the brown patch had been previously flooded during the rainy season. But things dry up very quickly.

 

A wing provides a most welcome shadow to people and medical workers when the medical hut is nowhere to be seen or has crumbled.

Outreach clinics, Flying Medical Service

 

26 airstrips near remote villages are parts of the Flying Medical Service schedules.

 

Scales, either on a branch or on the wing hook.

 

A serious patient was brought to us. Right away the doctor decided to give fluids.

 

 

Ngorongoro Highlands, and volcano Lengai in the Rift Valley.

 

A rare dull day on lake Natron.

outreach clinics in the Tanzanian bush, Flying Medical Service

 

Flying Medical Service  operates on about 26 remote villages. Here is our doctor of the day treating a kid’s wound.

 

A nurse busy with vaccination cards and syringes.

 

Monik, an airstrip on lake Natron. Extinct volcano Shombole above and active volcano Lengai below

 

A one-legged man goes home after a treatment on his stump.

 

Bush airstrips show challenges sometimes minor, sometimes serious. Slopes, altitude, difficult terrain and surroundings, flash floods…

Flying Medical Service, NGO in Tanzania

 

Please visit our Facebook page: Flying Medical Service or our website Flying Medical Service 

 

I’ve seen happier babies. BCG vaccine here.

 

A nurse administers a vaccine shot.

 

Taking care of babies, definitely a woman’s job here.

 

A Maasai woman in full regalia.

 

The fascinating active volcano Oldonyo Lengai, potentially seen from 10 different clinics nearby.

 

 

A tetanus shot for a Sonjo pregnant woman.

Flying Medical Service, clinics in the bush

 

 

One of the few trees around, perfect for shade under the scorching sun.

 

the nurse prepares vaccinations.

 

 

the scale, a precious tool to check babies health.

 

one airstrip, Habere in the Sonjo Valley.

Flying Medical Service, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service provides various health cares in northern Tanzania and operates in remote areas where roads are usually non existent.

who can see the airstrip on this picture?

 

Easier to spot here, Monik village on lake Natron. The mountain is a volcano, Lengai.

 

The wing provides shade to the doctor and her ‘cabinet’.

 

 

 

Things change, cheap motorbikes have shown up some years ago. This man offers his taxi skills.

 

Women waiting for the vaccination jabs.

 

The nurse is busy weighing the babies.

 

The baby has a more interesting haircut than his mother.

Flying Medical Service in the bush

 

Behind stands a Cessna 206, a 6 seater, Flying Medical Service favorite workhorse. Compare it to a Land Rover with wings.

It’s amazing what a few boxes of medical supplies, a doctor and 2 nurses can accomplish in the most remote areas of Northern Tanzania. The most common diseases can usually be treated on the spot. Notable exceptions are severe cases of malaria, complicated pregnancies, and various wounds. The Tanzanian bush could show some similarities with the Wild West. Spears, machetes, wooden clubs are still common. Kalashnikovs become sought after. Add wildlife for a nice combo. That’s why we need some extra seats for occasional patients to bring back to the nearest hospital.

 

A selection of airstrips in the most beautiful landscapes.

 

 

 

Measles, polio, tetanus, BCG…up to 10 vaccines are nowadays administered.

 

A doctor, here with one his metallic cases full of medicines, typically works in the shade, whether provided by a tree, a wing or a hut.

Flying Medical Service, outreach clinics in Tanzania

 

Where there is no road or medical facilities in the Tanzanian bush, some aircraft come handy for outreach…that’s where Flying Medical Service  steps in with a doctor, 2 nurses, some medical supplies.

Tetanus jabs for pregnant women.

 

A bunch of patients and onlookers surround the doctor.

 

A nurse prepares the vaccines.

 

Normally this an easy airstrip. Till it gets flooded in the rainy seasons. Luckily it is one of the few long and wide airstrips we use so I could go around the puddles on landing and take off.

 

Some irstrips in the Ngorongoro Highlands are a bit challenging… This was the best location for the whole area. At 6500 ft high and with a 11% slope.

 

 

Flying Medical Service, mobile clinics in Tanzania

Flying Medical Service, a great little NGO for which I flew more than 6 years…

A doctor inspects a baby. It’s amazing what can be achieved with 3 boxes of supplies. The people we treat live far away from any facility and still , from these remote clinics, we rarely fly a patient out to the nearest hospital. The doctors manage to cure most cases.

 

Curious visitors on lake Natron.

 

A medical hut in bricks, the only one in the 25 villages we visit.

 

A Sonjo mother waits with her child.

 

Maasai warriors playing and posing for my benefit, and theirs as they will receive a few prints later. I made a point not to give any money but prints to each model.

 

Women come from a long way to attend the clinics.

 

We get to land in the most stunning landscapes, here in the Rift Valley near the active volcano Lengai

 

I had just flew this man from the hospital back home. He still had difficulties to walk and was waiting for friends or relatives to carry him home.

 

A lone tree serves as a clinic spot.

 

I had had a brake problem so TJ, a former colleague, came to swap planes.

Flying Medical Service, clinics in the bush, Tanzania

 

a doctor chats with a Maasai patient.

 

An active volcano, Lengai. We’ve got  a few airstrips nearby.

 

A man has just received a bag of medicine.

 

a typical Maasai homestead. Miles away from anything like a shop, a dispensary, a road…

 

People coming to the clinic.

 

A mama has just received a vaccination shot.

 

It used to be the real bush out there. Only traditional clothes were to be seen. But if a lodge or a hunting company come nearby and provide jobs, fashion changes quickly or newcomers show up.

little flight in the bush with friends, Tanzania

 

Out of the blue, this beautiful aircraft showed up in Arusha. The owner and a pilot friend wanted some familiarisation flights in the bush. So we flew 3 days. Here we are in Monik, a Flying Medical Service airstrip on lake Natron. The volcano Lengai in the distance was splendid that day.

 

because of the small wheels and fairing on this aircraft, we couldn’t go to the roughest airstrips. But for 2 normal Belgian pilots, those easy strips were amazing enough.

 

Another day in Endulen, Ngorongoro area. Zebras were all over the place, including on the airstrip.

 

The wheel fairings had been removed. The small rocks could destroy them.

 

A Go Pro 3 camera had been fixed on the wing. Amazing quality, I want one now…I’ll post the link soon.

 

Zebras again.

 

We did some other airstrips but didn’t stop completely in all. Flew gently in some gorges, overflew the flamingoes on lake Natron, enjoyed the colors and abstract shapes of that wonderful lake, spotted wildlife, circled over the Ngorongor Crater...

In Malambo, we were threatened by a drunk Masai and his spear! In Olbalbal, we kept the engine running but I gave medicines urgently needed to the local health worker. Thanks to Miguel and Johan for helping Flying Medical Service. The plane is even made available for FMS but we declined. This yellow beauty is brand new and our operations would wear and tear it pretty quickly.

There are quite some difference with our preferred C 206’s but this FB-A2 Expedition E350 would do wonders, it is real bush plane. Some minor modifications would make it a bush killer.

Anyway I enjoyed the flying very much, was happy to meet new cool dudes and their equally cool passengers.

There should be more flying in a few weeks!

Flying Medical Service at work, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service…in Tanzania. I ended my second tour of duty last month but I still feel close to the group. An airplane has been lost, a replacement is much needed. If anyone is interested in a good cause, please visit the Facebook page, Flying Medical Service, or visit the website http://www.flyingmedicalservice.org/. Thanks a lot!

The remote bush…a myth, a dream for traveller but sometimes a hurdle for local people who live far from everything. They will walk for hours just to attend our clinics, receive vaccinations, treatment or sometimes a lift back to the nearest hospital for the serious cases.

 

here a basic hut for the doctor and his patients, the pregnant women….

But privacy is sometimes a luxury so a tree will do.

 

 

Remote bush I said…

 

 

 

the type of village we serve.

 

after a bush fire.

 

pictures fished out of my old files, film photography. But the situation hasn't changed at all...

Flying Medical Service at work in the Tanzanian bush

 

Flying Medical Service is an NGO in Tanzania, for more information n the work we do, please have a look at our Facebook page or the website. We need a replacement aircraft like this after a spectacular loss last week…

This is a typical scene, the aircraft, the people (here Masai) waiting for their turn either for vaccination or treatment.

 

Our missed C 206 taking off from Arusha on a beautiful morning. Mt Meru in full glory.

 

A village and an airstrip near the active volcano Lengai. Some places are really remote, without even a decent dirt track.

 

Masai people can walk for quite some distance to see us every 2 weeks.

 

Things change. 10 years ago, none of our clinics had a network.

 

Masai pregnant women receive a tetanus vaccination shot.

 

A lady carefully listens to our doctor.

 

A typical village without any form of facility. The closest hospital is 2 days away for a fit warrior.

 

Sometimes we have a hut, so the doctor can work in a private environment and have a shelter, sometimes the wing is all we get.

Flying Medical Service, crash, part III

 

 

the tail section looks interesting. The vertical fin is where the red cross stands…

 

the windshield is normal located there, instead of that orange pipe and the rest.

 

the wing…a big chunk missing obviously.

 

the engine, thrown 80m away from the impact. We hardly salvaged anything from it. A magneto, the starter and the oil cap… the rest looked too messed up.

 

Masai on the prowl…

 

the 6 seats didn’t seem worth of taking back with us.  All bent, rails ripped off…they’ll make people happy.

 

Pat looking for a last bit to remove.

Flying Medical Service crash, part II

 

 

one wheel track towards the killing tree…

 

damaged vegetation, the wreck lies 60m away from the impact point, the engine 80m away! The thing weighs close to 300 kg…

 

Picasso was here…

 

the leading of the right wing, looking backwards!

 

 

a serious bend in the longitudinal axis is here very obvious. That nose wheel shouldn’t be so high up in the sky.

 

and this wheel shouldn’t be that close to the door either… all that mess on the low right side of the picture is where the windshield was. It is amazing the 2 guys in front didn’t get serious injuries on the head.

 

Pat at work on the nose assembly. Incredible, the whole unit looked fine, so we salvaged it amongst various parts.

 

the pink shirt dude was a bit of a helper but was also impatient to get to the wreck for his own benefit. People had collected all the missing bits, mainly medicines, syringes and papers, alongside the accident trail seen here on the right side, and all should be burnt.

It was obvious some people had taken some medicines for self medication or resale…risky business especially amongst uneducated people. We have seen disasters before.

anyway, we're busy looking for a replacement aircraft so we can continue our medical outreach work in remote areas. If you are willing to danate for a great cause, please visit http://www.flyingmedicalservice.org/

Flying Medical Service, aircraft accident, Tanzania

 

Unfortunately an accident happened last week in Ilkiushi Oibor, also called Mkongonero, south of Arusha. Fortunately, though some injuries are serious, nobody died.

To make it simple, the cause of the accident is a fly-by that didn’t go well.

I was away for the week so I didn’t take part in the first 2 flights out there, that is the rescue flight with a larger plane to bring everybody back, including the 2 girls on stretchers, and then a second flight to bring an aviation inspector and assess the wreck.

It was then decided to fly a 3rd time this Sunday. I joined Pat my former boss, but still friend, at Flying Medical Service  down there with a big tool box.

 

Not a pretty sight… N36MS lying to rest.

 

a wheel track after the fly by went wrong. Further are the scrubs and the tree the plane at high speed.

here are some bits of the windows, probably on impacting the nose on the ground after the tree collision.

 

Pat having a close look . That nose wheel alone in the sky should be at eye level. While the engine was ripped apart, the whole front section was bent downwards, yes not upwards, the plane must have been by then close to vertical position on the first impact…

 

that is one wing. Yes, fellow pilots, that black hole is the fuel cap, which means indeed the wing has been twisted upside down! The tail was torn and twisted forwards at an angle 140 deg angle, and sideways 90 deg. The portion sticking up is an elevator. The 2nd elevator was found 70m away. A cargo door had been popped out…

and again those amazing landing gears, the 3 of them, were intact! Funny enough the main tyres were flat. Fat thorns had been picked up while going through the acacia tree.

the seats and the instruments are all over the place.  We couldn’t help wondering how nobody got crushed, especially the 2 front passengers…Cessna engineers definitely did a great job in designing the C 206 cabin.

 

lots of onlookers, some helpers too, others impatiently waiting for us to leave and finish off the wreck. Nothing gets really discarded in Africa.

 

we are looking to replace such an aircraft. In the meantime we are not able to provide our usual medical care in the remote areas. People won’t be able to get treated, kids won’t received their vaccinations… So if you are interested in donating, just visit our website  http://www.flyingmedicalservice.org/, thank you.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

Rains always bring some sense of fun.

airstrip being flooded…

just after take off, it was a bit sloshy but a C 206 does wonders.

 

Tanzania is definitely not short of hills and mountains.

 

safety is not very well understood by everybody.

 

birds on final…

Flying the bush in Tanzania

 

 

 

 

flooded airstrip. Propeller strikes happened because of soft ground there even when the ground looked dry. So nowadays, the company policy is to avoid this strip when water is apparent.

 

Bush fire are always a hazard. Will e fid our plane intact net morning? Those fires can be natural of course but are also man made, poachers or park authorities for fire control. Since these incompetent people only manage their nose picking, we have reasons to be concerned.

 

 

some of the numerous visitors we’ve got to chase before take off in national parks.

 

I had just landed on this flooded airstrip and didn’t waste time to grab my camera to witness the next planes to come.

 

some airstrips are real highways but there are always animals crossing to keep us alert.

bush flying, Tanzania

 

preparing for low flying, that is just after I safely shot this picture, then I could go much lower and focus on flying.

 

lake Natron, there is an airstrip in this forest. Stunning area to overfly….

On final for landing somewhere on a lake Natron airtsrip

 

another airstrip on the shoreline, straight in the middle of this picture.

 

Just outside Serengeti, a Caravan…

and a Twin Otter, here on landing.

 

facing an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai in the Rift valley.

 

 

a much traveled and discarded shoe…

bush flying, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service has definitely some of the best bush airstrips! Whether for the challenge or the sceneries. Here a flooded strip at Monik.

 

a volcano, Lengai and an active one that is.

 

a bit of low flying in Olduvai gorge.

 

downhill airstrip, one way in, one way out, no discussion. Wind is not a factor really.

 

our new recruit.

 

the advantage of this place is that the strip can be set anywhere, just throw a few rocks (which won’t stay white very long) et voilà.

 

I don’t fly this Herc’, though this is one of the very few big bush beasts I’d love to get a job onto, and watching a C 130 bush take off is always impressive.

 

Rift Valley, just a few small villages, a coupla airstrips down there…

 

time to kick some butts before I can take off from one of the Katavi park airstrips. Animals are common on strips of course, but such a variety, not so much. Zebras, Cape elands and waterbucks all together, what a treat. Even if it meant I had to run and yell like an idiot to chase them away. The other idiots were busy nose-picking somewhere. I won’t give names here but my fellow pilots know which green men I'm referring to.

flying in the bush

some of Flying Medical Service special airstrips…an obvious one to spot on the picture…

but this one…on the edge of the top green area,

 

time to call the gardener for this one.

 

trying to fix a burst tyre in the bush….

 

flooded airstrip but totally manageable for Flying Medical Service pilots.

and here is a proof.

 

 

an airstrip lies beneath these low clouds.

great I need to fly across this.

Flying Medical Service, Tanzania

 

to attend our bush clinics, some people will walk from afar. I’m always in awe in front of scenes like these, people and vast expanses of savannah or mountains…

Flying Medical Service operates about 30 airstrips, hardly any would fit western standards, and that’s why I love it.

true, we can argue about the definition of airstrip sometimes. Yes we use this whatever as an airstrip.

 

an elder Masai lady explaining her case.

 

Sonjo family.

 

nurse at work with vaccinations and weighting.

 

a doctor at his practice…

 

Masai woman in full regalia.

 

sharing the airstrip is a common thing, sometimes annoying. I’ve been lucky over the years, except a wildebeest and a gazelle, without damage for the airplanes, I haven’t hit anything.

 

 

old and newer pictures but all shot on various film cameras.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

we had some visitors at night…elephant tracks.

 

a colleague came to rescue me after a brake failure, we just swapped airplanes so I could continue safely on the medical tour and the other short airstrips. Notice the brown spot, an anteater hole that I had had just filled up.

 

 

 volcano Lengai far away.

 

wet airstrip…and dry some months later. Same location.

time for the water level to stabilize.

 

 

 

aircraft accident, Tanzania, part 12

 

I’ve just found an old picture of the larger area. Meet Empakai Crater and its salt lake. The rim towers at 11.000 feet. The airstrip, Engoveroni, lies on the lower left corner…yes that little green strip.

once in a while I take a walk while the clinic goes on and this what we see from the next ridge. As said before, at a slope of 1 to 11, the Vertical Speed Indicator will show 600 ft down on take off. I just love this challenging airstrip, with a lot of respect too.

 

so now our garden starts to look like an open abstract art gallery.

here is the propeller. Any idea to reuse that except for a lower glass table? Our mechanic wants to make tyre levers out the blades. Maybe we should call our friend Wieke, an art designer in Arusha,  and see what she’d do about this.

we had had second thoughts whether to bring the engine back…looking at this crushed assembly…

but with a bit of stripping and cleaning , we went from this to that!

so with a few parts to change, we hope the factory will accept an exchange.

in the meantime another piece of art hanging in the garden. There are some crashed wings a bit further and the latest propeller cone below.

 

even the table survived the crash and is to be straightened out. The thing was located in the external belly pod that had been ripped off on impact.

B/W infrared pictures, Tanzania

 

while on a Flying Medical Service tour, I loaded my Leica M6 with Maco IR films and a 89B filter

The Rift Valley, the mythical Rift Valley. Here is the aircraft and the clinical hut at Engoveroni.

 

Herders eyeing me suspiciously…

 

2 opposite views of the active volcano Lengai.

people in line, yes in line!, waiting for the vaccinations.

B/W photography, Rolleiflex, Tanzanian bush

 

one of my favorite cameras at work with B/W  Ilford films. A 1961 model, no fancy apps and electronic stuff. It’s good to use my brain once in a while before I press the shutter.

 

 

 

 

bush flying in wet season, Tanzania

 

 

We had just landed in Oljoro, not on any map, cloudy but dry weather. All at once the clouds let go all their contents. The airstrip got flooded within 5 minutes.

 

the airstrip…

 

 

at least somebody else got happy with that weather. I was happy too just for the experience. We’d have to take off at some point…

 

 

It didn’t look too good but then the Cessna 206 is such a bush beast…

 

and off we went, a few splashes here and there on the run when one can feel the airplane slowing down but here is the picture to prove we got airborne. The strip is that diagonal from top left to low right. Interestingly enough, seeing this amount of flooding would keep me away from landing. I couldn’t wait to see next airstrip.

 

here is it, Olpirikata, 10 miles away till not on any map sand a total different landscape. We didn’t land, this is soft ground and we’ve had 2 propeller strikes here in the past! So that silver ribbon doesn’t bode well.

Flying Medical Service in the bush, Tanzania

 

this is an example of a village we fly to. Judging by the main street, it is easy to guess how remote and somehow forgotten the place is.

 

most of the villages we attend are quite remote anyway, otherwise why bother?

 

Masai women waiting at a clinic.

 

while the clinic is going on, some women come and sell fruit and vegetables just next to the clinic hut. Yes that is a clinic hut…

 

or eggs.

 

polio droplet distribution.

 

 

the doctor at work under the aircraft wing.

 

OK there is room to improve the airstrip (but then where is the fun?) but what a stunning landscape: an active volcano in the Rift Valley….

 

Masai girl, freshly excised,  a status she is proud of and showing off in her special attire.

Flying Medical Service in the bush

 

after the accident last month and the numerous pictures about the wreck and salvaging trip, maybe it would be nice and more cheerful to show a bit of the regular work.

No matter what the useless local newspapers wrote, Flying Medical Service is a non religious organisation, not a missionary one, otherwise I wouldn’t be flying for them. The confusion comes from the fact that my boss is a priest but more importantly a pilot. But he is quite good at keeping things separate.

So we operate 2 Cessna 206’s, well normally that is, to about 30 airstrips and 3 hospitals for our regular clinics where we provide medical treatments, vaccinations and sometimes an evacuation back to the hospital. Emergencies, medical or other NGO staff transfer are on our programs too.

 

We have the splendid privilege to fly the real bush in odd conditions, see the most stunning landscapes in northern Tanzania. And Flying Medical Service airstrips are of the special type. We’ve had an ex Marine pilot here who once was asked why he did fly for us. His answer should be framed: “I wanted to do some real flying…”. Even if he was half joking, I still feel good about that!

 

here is a nurse attending a pregnant Masai woman. She’ll receive folic acid and iron pills, her blood pressure and weight will be checked, given a tetanus shot…part of what we call ANC, ante natal care. Family planning is also available and becomes more and more popular. It’s about time: Masai women still have at least 6 kids in average.

 

 

A doctor will set the ‘practice' wherever he/she can, under the main tree, under the aircraft wing or sometimes in a hut. All we need are 2 or 3 boxes of medicines for the most common diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, various infections…for the difficult cases, pregnancies usually, we fly the patient back to the hospital of the day. It’s really amazing what a doctor in those conditions can achieve.

 

 

people will walk form far away to meet us. The audience can be quite colorful!

 

in case the bush hospitals can’t help, the patient is flown to a better location. These are old pictures from 1999 when ambulances were still quite non existent, we’d use our own little jeeps. This boy didn’t make it. It will always stays a weird feeling to fly somebody, hoping the patient will make it and then we hear the bad news. Strangely enough, we’ve seen the most spectacular cases on board and the survival rate is incredibly high. We’re talking about bullet, lion, leopard, buffalo, snake, hyena gory wounds, and the list goes on with various diseases, arrow and spear in the head or through the torso, a face chewed up by a hyena, a skull split open, car crash victims, or aircraft lately…

 

it never gets boring, I can tell you that much!

aircraft accident, Tanzania, part 10

 

as a reminder, this was the general aerial view of the crash site.

 

up close…

 

Jacek salvaging a trophy, the propeller cone.

 

the left wing, which became right wing from our point of view, got a bit separated from the cabin. Notice the black gap. And then the angle between the leading edge, up left, and the top windshield, down left…it should be a straight line.

Here is another interesting angle. The low part of the picture shows the right wing end trashed by a tree, then it goes straight to the cabin. The left wing, the far one that is, shows that impressive forward angle.

 

The landing gear struts looked OK, amazingly enough, but it is such a hard work to remove that with our limited time out there, we decided to remove only the whole wheel assemblies, only 4 bolts each and disconnect the brake line. The nose wheel and strut had been partially ripped off so there was only one twisted bolt to remove. Take a minute to pose on the landing gear…On impact the optional fiberglass belly pod and content were ripped off. Even if they had a cushioning effect, they still damaged the real belly. It means the landing gear struts got compressed big time towards the wings, past the belly line, then came back to normal position, without obvious damage! That’s serious spring capabilities. Congratulations to the Cessna engineers (obviously not the same ones who design accessibility to parts…)

 

steep slope, crappy vegetation, that’s why we brought the pick up as high as we could…

 

a little reward the next morning!

 

our campsite. 10 Celsius in the morning and rain…

by 10 am, we had packed the Cruiser carefully, protecting all the gear an equipment with straps, foam mattress, crushed empty bottles and old tyres. I just hate rattling noises for the discomfort first (especially for a 7h trip back) and also because I can’t help feeling we’re destroying something if it rattles against another part. We could have spent another morning for some last parts but we were constrained by time. We told the Masai they could use whatever they saw fit from the wreck. And we left ready for some stunning landscapes across the Ngorongoro Highlands. We didn’t expect the light rain and the heavy fog but it gave a certain touch to the trip. More soon for these shots.

 

Now, last week I overflew the wreck, well what was left of it…we had told the Masai to help themselves, and they just did that!

the whole tail section and one wing are missing, the other wing seriously hacked, we assume to retrieve some fuel though we had told them to be careful with that but try to make Masai reasonable…now we expect some fire injuries to come. We had let between 50 to 100 lt leak on the ground, we couldn’t access all the fuel left, we were surrounded by Masai who were obviously not pleased with that waste. I was not pleased either for ecological reasons but what to do without jerrycans? Kerosene lamps and stoves are dangerous enough as such. Fill those things with aviation gas…

so the other wing has been hacked for the fuel bladder but the cut is clean and rectangular, as is the case for the vertical fin below. This is quite typical, a large piece of aluminum cut out carefully out of a flat surface…

no sign of the 2 stabilizers. They might be used as tables? They’re flat enough for that…A little enquiry might prove interesting.

as a reminder this is the initial wreck before the double salvage process.

 

we estimate our salvage expedition to be worthwhile, not to mention the fun aspect in such a bush trip and gain of experience, the booty is worth past 50.000$! That is if we ever use each part, which of course is not going to happen… but the flying instruments at 20.000$ for the whole lot, the 2 wing tip tanks at 7000 a piece, the engine hopefully at 14.000, the windows at 500 a piece (replaced twice so far after burglaries), fuel pumps, wheel assemblies, seats… who knows, if somebody needs spares, contact us. Or just for a donation, most welcome. The new 2nd hand airplane can cost anything up to 220.000$ these days.

aircraft accident, Tanzania, part 2

 

so the accident happened last Tuesday. We did 2 flights to rescue our colleagues and passengers. All were released within a coupla days. That includes the 4 dead ones according to a lousy local newspaper.

On the Wednesday, the colleagues were finally released and we had had time to make plans to fly there the next day, and drive later on if the parts to salvage were worth such a long bush trip (luckily for me they were).

My remaining colleague and pilot, our financial director (for her first flight with us, that was quite one serious trip), an inspector, then a veteran and former colleague joined the gang, and myself flew to Empakai crater on Thursday. The inspector was most impressed by the special airstrip and the surroundings! But he decided that nevertheless the conditions were impressive and far away from the books, we had done well over the years.

After landing we took a short walk towards the wreck, a few hundred meters away

mountainous terrain, slopes and ravines at 6500 ft.

the green bag contains basic tools.

 

Oldonyo Lengai, the majestic volcano. A deity locally but that didn’t prevent the accident…

 

our Masai watchmen on duty. Nothing was stolen, they did a good job. They just borrowed the airplane seats and made themselves comfy. They also had gathered all the spread out things from the aircraft under the retrieved belly pod, that’s the thing with the red cross that had been ripped off on impact 30 meters away after which the plane bounced and flipped over.

we were a bit shocked and in awe on the spot: the wreck looks way worse seen up close than from the air!

 

The nose is quite mangled, the engine had been ripped off and is now lying just right of the aircraft.

 

The airstrip is on the ridge up there…

 

to be continued…

bush flying, Tanzania

 

a Flying Medical Service mobile clinic in the Rift valley. Trees are rare in this place so either the nurse hangs the scale on the hut either on the wing hook like here.

 

the sun is quite harsh on lake Natron. So umbrellas made in China became popular as soon as they appeared some years ago.

 

Stunning vista covering most of lake Natron. There are about early 10 airstrips around and none of them is registered so no commercial flight brings tourists here.

 

a crazy sloped airstrip located on a ridge.

 

same place in he Ngorongoro area, different season.

 

after a violent downpour the airstrip gets flooded. The take off was interesting

 

yup the airstrip lies in there, picture shot just after take off.

 

or here, that is the thin shiny strip. We didn’t land that day. We know this soil here is really soft. We learnt it the hard way: 2 of our aeroplanes sank in on landing and hit the propeller.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

Pininyi, one airstrip on the western shoreline of lake Natron.

 

I had to fly that way so I decided to wait  a bit.

 

we, at Flying Medical Service, have a hard time to convince villagers to maintain their airstrips. High grass will be pulverized by the propeller, will give a nice green hue to everything and the bits will stick to the airplane. And it is a mess to clean.

 

 

Olorbelin, one the few airstrip FMS uses on lake Natron.

 

Engoveroni, a special airstrip, sloped and slanted.

 

That new aeroplane had just been ferried from the USA and its extra 500 lt fuel tank was being removed, the seats were installed again.

 

Formation flight, quite loose here because I’m taking the picture, muuuch closer a few seconds later.

 

What to do when the ignition switch dies? With a bit of luck you’ve got an enthusiast engineer around, Ludwig, who will be more than happy to roam the hospital for a spare one. In this case an X ray machine switch which had matching specifications. Then with some wires and bandage tape, you’ve got a real bush fixture. Electrical wires taped outside the airplane to the battery looked shoddy but this was a real good job.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

some of my very old pictures in Tanzania, all on films.

A big chunk of Tanzania is volcanic, so there are many gorges out there. Once in a while it was too tempting to indulge myself.

 

Sengerema, a smart airstrip in the middle of the village…at the hospital is located on the very edge of this strip. Convenient…

 

Those are the remains of a Boeing 707 cargo which tried to land at night during a power cut. The generator never kicked in, the pilots were running short of fuel and had to do something. Now why didn’t they go to Entebbe next door is a mystery to me. The landing failed a bit, they finished the landing run in the water. The airplane was quite intact, sticking out of the water line, no casualties, but the salvage crew tore the plane apart. Behind are parked some Russian IL 76. See the documentary “Darwin’s nightmare” for juicy details…

 

Dusty take off in the dry season. One of the 2 Cessna 206’s Flying Medical Service operates.

 

This airstrip is quite challenging, the slope is at 11% and is slanted too.

the same strip can cause an embarrassment to ladies…we land and because of the slope, the weight in the back seats can cause the plane to sit on its tail. Then a lady, ladies are usually lighter than men and we make them sit in the back, steps out and then the plane suddenly comes back to a normal position. Embarrassing and a little joke usually pops out.

 

Olpirikata, the narrowest airstrip we use.

 

I had told the Masai people to maintain the airstrip, a never ending fight….

 

Bush fires had been raging around but the short grass on the airstrip was spared.

 

While on clinics, we may have time for some quality time. Here some video footage is shown to circumsized Masai boys.