Ben Wilhelmi

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...

Random pictures, South Sudan

 

Antonov 32 taking off from Juba.

 

This little sells biscuits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My last picture before I left in 2015. These killing machines, Mi 24 gunships, were being refurbished by Russians or whatever technicians. More horrors to come as we now know.

USAid, food station in South Sudan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was the plane I flew last year but USAid trucks had delivered the bags and oil cans.

USAid in South Sudan

 

Pibor, a village somewhere in South Sudan. I had dropped some supplies for UN pecekeepers and at the same USAid trucks were dropping food for the civilians. Interesting scenery.

 

Yes, those bags look heavy. And they are: 50kg or 113 lbs!

 

 

 

Keeping watch on precious trophies!

Scenes in South Sudan, USAid delivery

 

The place is called Pibor. The rains were coming which means the black cotton airstrip and the roads nearby will be closed quite often. It will get slippery and soft. Black cotton is a thick, heavy but very slippery mud. So the food was delivered in advance by trucks.

 

Cooking oil in these tins.

 

Or sorghum and lentils in these 50kg bags. This woman was keeping guard!

 

This woman got a box of oil tins, some leaking obviously.

 

An old Murle woman is not afraid of carrying 50kg on her head. Notice the white piercing jewels around her mouth.

 

This kid in blue clothes was salvaging grains leaked from bags before being chased by some nasty official.

 

These bags have been tampered with, I’m not sure what’s inside. Maybe just a lightened o shared load.

 

 

The pictures were initially shot with a smartphone while pretending calling someone, my usual technique in this paranoid country. There is always some sort of obscure official, some soldier, some policeman, some civilian to object and make your life miserable. But around the food distribution center, people looked relaxed and after a while I could shoot a bit more normally. Still I left my big camera in the bag. I was not willing to push my luck too far.

Random pictures, South Sudan

 

A special welcome in Pibor, a bit surprising when I landed…

 

 

 

A man on water duty.

 

A patriotic woman.

 

 

A female soldier, I haven’t seen many.

 

Some pictures, South Sudan

 

Just before the rains, a convoy was organised to deliver food in Pibor. This young and already strong girl carries a 50 kg bag on her head!

 

 

 

A young soldier has modified his ammunition clips. He typically scotched 3 clips together with duct tape so he gains time when swapping them.

 

A traditional dancer in Yirol. Notice the 4 missing teeth on the lower jaw. A tradition amongst Dinka people.

 

They were not dancing in my honor but for some VIP I had brought.

 

A local Billy Boy n a funny changing color outfit. I have a bicycle like that, the color swaps from green to brown according to the light orientation. Same technology for this suit.

Aviation pictures, South Sudan

 

A slow Mi 8 is so easy to overtake.

 

A huge Mi 26 on take off.

 

A Il 76 taking off on a wet runway.

 

A An 12 getting loaded. The truck won’t board.

 

View from my hotel. Some planes like the Il 76 just fill up the frame, they are so big…and so low!

This picture hasn’t been cropped. The lens is a 28mm…

 

The Il 76 which can carry 34 tons, legally…I've heard of 41 tons.

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.

Random pictures in South Sudan

 

The classic scam about witchcraft to recover lost love, job promotion, penis enlargement…

 

Indian contingent in Pibor. They are always fully geared up with weapons and bulletproof jackets to welcome aircraft and their supplies….

 

A mechanic working on a Mi 26 main rotor. One could build a nice little house in such a helicopter, like on a Boeing 727.

 

Surprise a Russian Mi 8 poorly parked on Yirol airstrip.

 

 

Juba, a Mi 8 hovering, faffing around before finally landing between parked Mi 8’s. Why not use the runway and taxi as usual…?

 

 

Swampy area alongside the Nile.

 

Tiny rapids on the Nile, Ugandan border.

 

Bush fire, Congolese border towards Yambio.

South Sudan, random pictures

 

 

A Mi 8 over the Nile, slow beasts, they are so easy to overtake.

 

A Belgian project in Bor. Some spelling mistakes on top of “Delgique”…Belgique would have looked nicer.

 

This kid and friends wait for passengers and carry their luggage.

 

A wheelbarrow will do too.

 

 

 

 

Middle of nowhere, Pibor. And nice manners have arrived here I have no clue how. Pilots? UN peacekeepers?

 

I always feel safer whenever I see a weapon to honor my arrival.

 

Juba, an Antonov 26 taking off after the rain.

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.

 

 

Aerial pictures of a refugee camp, South Sudan

 

Flooded or not, it all depends on a few centimeters and luck.

 

All that green or sandy surface is water. Canoes would be convenient to visit the neighbors or go shopping.

 

The UN camp next door was better planned, there is hardly no sluggish water here, a better location makes all the difference.

 

In some camps, maybe all, the latrines have collapsed. Cholera cases have been reported. Even the camp in Juba is affected. Boots are to be sprayed when one leaves camp, for those who can…a lone tree is used for meetings, probably for men only.

 

Organization is to be seen here and there. A little garden, straw collected for roofing…small shops I heard. I’d like to visit one camp at some point. Well the word ‘visit’ has a weird feeling in this case.

 

The same picture has been cropped below to show that typical fresh water tank in blue. A foot bridge has been built to access it.

 

A main street in the green slime.

A refugee camp, aerials, South Sudan

 

A refugee camp in Rubkona in the north west, IDP status, that is Internally Displaced People. 1,3 million in the country. 450,000 more refugees have left to neighboring countries. Mind blowing numbers…

I’ve shown this kind of picture before: I’m still puzzled by the fact that only this camp is badly flooded around.

 

Yesterday I overflew and took some details. Notice the little dykes around the tents.

 

A part of the main street…below a cropping of the same picture:

Those brown slabs are clean water reservoirs. What an irony that people have to get into dirty water to access the clean one. Towards the right side, these are kids playing in the water under the scorching sun.

 

More water tanks, different models.

 

I’m not too sure what this is. A watchtower monitored by peacekeepers? There are a few on the perimeter…

 

Toilets… wadding skills required. One other camp is reported with 1 latrine for 158 persons. The crisis level says 1 for 50… it doesn’t look too bad here, no queues to be seen.

some flying tools, South Sudan

 

That speck on the left is my aircraft, a Caravan 208 containing 13 passengers or a good ton of cargo. Imagine what this monster of an helicopter can carry! Yes, a Caravan for instance. This is a Mi 26.

 

An Antonov 12, eco friendly in appearance….

 

2 views of the Ilyushin 76. Ex military aircraft. Seen from close, the gunner posts and the bomb master glass nose are visible.

 

A Hawker Siddeley 748.

 

2 legends: above the Hercules C 130. Below the Boeing 707. I still have to go and sniff around that one!

Especially the small tail on the left, Mig 19?

 

Antonov 26. Notice the propeller tips creating vapor vortices in the humid morning.

I brought my new 2nd hand Leica M8 here, and to avoid any jealousy between girls, I brought my old M6 (film camera). Fancy team.

South Sudan, random pictures

 

Red Cross, World Food Program, Médecins Sans Frontières…quite a few humanitarian organisations are operating from Juba airport. This is a Caravan 208, the same model I fly on here in Juba.

 

The White Nile and its smaller meanders, ponds and various waterways. I wonder how fishermen find their way in there. I learnt that the Blue Nile from Ethiopia provides 95% of water and sediments to the Nile. No wonder the Egyptians squeal when they hear the word "dam" in Ethiopia. I had been wondering what kind of river this White Nile was. It never looks great in tern of water flow.

 

Some Russian mechanics used our airplane to salvage spare parts from an Antonov 26 in Lokichoggio. Here is a turbine exhaust pipe. The scary part was that the airplane and the dismounted engines had been exposed to the elements for years and these guys were planning to reuse the engines…

 

Some stickers need replacements…

 

The White Nile, this picture sums up pretty well the South Sudanese landscape along the Nile…

 

 

Rubkona, a HS 748 crashed on landing, pretty badly. One crew died, another one hasn’t fully recovered.

Nobody bothered to clean up the scattered bits.

 

Juba airport, some Ilyushin 76’s, noisy overloaded monsters.

A flight in South Sudan

 

The place is called Rubkona. First we had been told to avoid overflying the village as some skirmishes had been spotted earlier in the day. Supposedly the rebels were in town and the governmental troops at the airfield.

On final, one can’t help but notice that refugee camp, which was quite flooded in that sandy colored water. Bad karma or what? These people are being terrorised, robbed, looted, abused by both camps and when finally they find some kind of shelter, the elements come in force.

Yes I can say the troops are around the airstrip but I’d say the rebels and them have passed a truce or something not to fight in the hottest moments of the day because the soldiers were really really relaxed. I even spotted one in his underwear doing his laundry! I wish I could have brought a picture because I have a feeling that a guy in boxers, Ray Bans, a red beret and the AK 47 against the basin won’t happen everyday.

 

Seeing these torched cars I initially thought that indeed there had been some fighting. But in this case an airplane crashed on landing and hit these jeeps.

Here is a bit of the aircraft mangled with the car wrecks.

 

The remains of the HS 748.

 

The UN peacekeepers, from Mongolia, took the job more seriously. All geared up and armed.

This Blue dude never dropped his binoculars in the 10 min I was snapping around.

 

 

A UN soldier keeps watch around the Mi 8.

 

Here is another picture of the flooded refugee camp. After take off it hit me that the whole area is dead flat like a pan. And out of all the places the engineers or city planners could have chosen, they selected the lowest part so that with the first rains, this hollow point would get hit. And apparently nothing else around, notice how the perimeter is clearly holding the water. I’d like to hear the story behind this, hear what those planners have to say for their defense.

A flight in South Sudan

 

 

Out of Juba to a bled called Agok near Darfur. I had to deliver 26 of those beds. Another plane was to deliver the mattresses.

 

The Nile looks like a difficult river to navigate, even impossible at some spots I’d say. But after seeing all these barges I might have to revise my opinion.

 

I haven’t seen many farm fields in South Sudan so far. Here are some alongside the Nile outside Juba.

 

After 2 hours over a monotonous flat and vast green plain, here is Agok, still a bit flooded.

These huts were made of plastic tarpaulins, reeds and various salvaged materials. The floods seem receding. Finally I could perform a low pass, Tanzanian style, to chase off animals and kids.

 

Those huts have lovely multilayered roofs.

 

I got a few surprises:  these women started to sing and dance in my honor for bringing beds(?). Not food not medicine but beds…

 

And the filmmaker here interviewed me, asking me how I felt to help out  a whole village, why did I do this, where did I come from, she thanked me at every sentence and I felt like Madonna landing in Malawi.

Then an old man was brought on the scene, to be flown to Juba. Things went a bit sour because I wouldn’t fly him for free. 15 people started to yell and get excited around me like in an oriental bazaar. The usual excuses and plights came out: he is poor, has no friends, no family, he is sick, his goats have died etc. One would wonder how did he survive so long out there…

I smiled and said this circus reminded me of Tanzania. What had I said! The journalist felt insulted funny enough and claimed loudly this was not Tanzania. I apologized and said she was right, that Tanzanians were at least quiet and polite in the same situation, and I started to board the plane. Suddenly little banknotes came out of at least 10 pockets. For a guy who was alone and poor 5 minutes before, he suddenly made many friends…and I was then called  Belgica Man…no more Dear Ben, God Bless you etc!

Where did she pick Belgica? I had said Belgium.

South Sudan, random pictures

 

Juba International airport, my new base. A Caravan is dwarfed by the huge Ilyushin 76s.

 

A nicely decorated airfield, Rubkona. A bigger plane crashed on landing and rammed into these jeeps. I initially thought they had been blown up in fighting. An easy mistake to do since there were some skirmishes in the village the very morning I landed there.

 

The legendary Mi 8 Russian helicopter, a workhorse. Notice the UN peacekeepers.

 

Juba suburb.

 

Another famous craft, the Ilyushin 76, or Il 76. At least 7 of them are based in Juba, packing up the apron.

 

The Nile in Juba.

 

After the flood.

 

The famous Dinka cows with huge horns. I need to see them from close and bring a better picture.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

bush flying in Africa, photography

 

Nairobi, mafia deal, insurance scam, jealous competitors… no truth ever came out for that bombed KingAir. The plane stayed in full view of the tourists clearing customs for weeks. Welcome to Africa.

 

Below are pictures in Tanzania where I have been living for 14 years.

More peaceful, a Flying Medical Service clinic.

 

the slopes of Empakai crater, one airstrip lies on a sloped ridge. Look carefully, you’ll see an airplane on this picture, a Flying Medical Service.

 

 

 

after a serious rainshower.

 

sandy airstrip, inexperienced pilot and that was it for the day for that Cessna 206. No injuries.

 

oops they forgot to lower the landing gear, or so they claimed… That Let 410 was eventually sold after some repairs.

 

A Cessna 206 on landing in the middle of nowhere, or the middle of everywhere as read once in a Colorado village.

Cessna 206, Tanzanian bush

 

the airplane, the pond, the curious Masai kids.

 

normally a pilot sits on the left seat but there was a new pilot to train so I sat on the right seat, gave him a lesson about flying low and I took some shots

here on final just before landing in the Ngorongoro area

 

 

next to an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai

 

 

high wing aircraft have a few advantages, the wings provide shade to our doctor and the patients, the clearance is better if the airstrip hasn’t been properly cleared of bush or high grass, aerial viewing of the ground is better.

 

a Masai warrior on his motorbike.

 

the C206 on a sloped airstrip. The Ngorongoro Highlands also offer incredible landscapes.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

the main tree in the village, people love to gather there and chat.

 

A Caravan on take off.

 

Sunset on Mt Meru.

 

One of our Flying Medical Service airplanes facing lake Natron. The pinkish line on the horizon is the typical salt crust on that lake.

 

Another airstrip, Pininyi, on lake Natron. Shombole behind.

 

While on clinics we attract usually mothers and children and sick people. These Masai warriors are just passing by for me. The word has spread out that I give prints for my models.

 

contrast between a dry and a wet season. Volcano Lengai in the distance.

 

A good rain season changes the landscapes quite drastically. There is then a European touch. That is till you spot an elephant or a Masai.

 

That was a serious puncture,wasn’t it?