A vintage mission of mercy

I was surprised and pleased to read on the Web site of Vintage Wings of Canada about a mercy mission to Haiti using a 40-year-old-plus Grumman HU-16C Albatross amphibious aircraft to bypass the bottleneck at the airport at Port-au-Prince.




Vintage Wings reports:

A group of twelve doctors and nurses from Marquette, Michigan, were trying to find a way to get themselves and several tons of donated supplies from the US to Haiti to participate in the relief efforts. The doctors and nurses have partnered with Partners In Health, a long-standing Haitian health provider with an excellent reputation, to man an under-staffed hospital in the Haitian city of Les Cayes.

Their biggest problem was that they had no way to get to or through the crowded Port-au-Prince Airport. Had they gotten there, the state of the roads and the lack of infrastructure would have kept them from contributing to the relief efforts.

This group managed to make contact with long-time Albatross owner and operator, Bill DaSilva. Bill’s plane, US registered N7025N, was already in Florida for the winter. Bill DaSilva quickly agreed to donate their aircraft and time to get these doctors and nurses to their destination, bypassing the usual, blocked relief routes by flying directly to the beach at their destination. Only the Albatross is capable of carrying this load from Miami directly to the waters off of Haiti and returning without refueling in Haiti. Without this transport, the mission was doomed.

The team went to Florida, loaded the Albatross with supplies, and set off on the long, slow flight to Haiti. The medical mission's blog posts, reported at the Vintage Wings link, provide more information. Here's their account of their arrival.

After a long, slow climb to clear the mountains of western Haiti, the Albatross descended into the area of the port city of Les Cayes. The flight crew completed a reconnaissance inspection of the landing area, flying low over the city and bay selecting a suitable landing site.




Activity in the port city was abuzz as the sight of the low-flying Navy seaplane caught the attention of the entire area. The first landing approach was stable and on-target, yet the rush of local boats and canoes into the bay forced a pull-up and return for landing. Fortunately, the small watercraft were separated enough that a landing clearway was available on the second approach. The rough seas and large swells tested the limits of the Albatross and crew, as the aircraft was launched by a swell on the first touchdown, forced again skyward as the veteran seaplane pilot DaSilva used every bit of his experience and ability to wrestle the ship through several more oscillations and high sea waves to safely bring the relief mission to a stop in the turbulent Caribbean sea.




The serenity of the long, scenic flight was exploded by the flurry of activity that met the crew as they attempted to approach the shore and anchor in the bay. With thousands of local residents rushing to the shore, many jumping into the bay and swimming toward the strange site that was the ex-Navy Albatross, as well as dozens of small watercraft approaching the sturdy yet surface-fragile aircraft, the team members struggled to communicate to the non-English speaking residents to remain clear of the aircraft and especially not allow small canoes and boats to puncture the aircraft's skin. Fortunately, with a combination of local residents' slight understanding of english and Dr. Dan Hardie's usable command of the Creole language, improved greatly by his bushing up by studying the Creole dictionary on the 5-hour flight, minimal order was achieved as the self-contained dinghy was inflated and Dr. Hardie and two team members made their way to shore. The U.N. security force, luckily having a presence in Les Cayes, was able to set up a security perimeter with their significant numbers and allow the off-load of crew and supplies from the relief ship. The transfer of the entire cargo load was arduous at best in the rough sea waters, as concern mounted over the possibility of damage to the craft from the local boat that was offered for assistance. Fortunately, the load was safely transferred and the last of the crew boarded the ancient, but sturdy, boat.




The flight crew wasted no time in preparing the Albatross for take-off, as the team members on the ground coordinated with local residents to clear the take-off lane. DaSilva and the flight crew of three battled the high waves and turbulent sea to return the aircraft to a more natural element as they lifted off the water and began the long return flight to South Florida. DaSilva would later describe the entire experience in a single phrase, exclaiming, "That was sporting!"

Meanwhile, the initial medical team members were met with a hero's welcome as hundreds of local residents, many children, rushed to the streets to catch a glimpse of the spectacle. Cheers went up as the crew rounded every turn, slowly making their way to the Hopital Immaculee Conception (Hospital Immaculate Conception) to meet up with the local medical staff. Back at the landing site the remainder of the crew awaited further instructions and made friendships with the much-appreciative locals. Handshakes and smiles were evident throughout the crowd as the battered yet resilient Haitian locals greeted the relief members. After the crew was re-assembled they conducted a tour of the facility and supplies and began plans for the week-long mission, on what will assuredly prove to test the limits of supplies and equipment as the dedicated crew of doctors and staff prepare to supply aid to a ravaged country by helping residents of this Haitian port city.

. . .

As the medical team settled in, the flight crew continued the challenge of the entire mission as they made their way back to Florida, now proceeding in the ever darkening skies of the Caribbean. The strong headwinds suffered during the flight to Haiti necessitated a fuel stop in the Turks and Caicos Islands. After refueling, the Albatross lumbered into the sky once again, but shortly after takeoff, enroute to Florida, the aircraft suffered an electrical failure which affected the navigation gyro instruments, and, additionally, had a warning light that led to a forced landing in Nassau, the Bahamas. The crew spent the night, repaired the electrical problem and headed back to Ft. Lauderdale. Plans are under way to facilitate the transport of the remaining supplies and medical crew aboard the Albatross to Les Cayes, hopefully Monday afternoon.




Monday, the medical team is exhaustively working under extremely difficult conditions and a lack of supplies and proper tools to provide emergency medical care to patients, some severely injured in the earthquake and waiting nearly two weeks with multiple fractures and injuries that have gone untreated, with little or no attention to injuries and often times no available pain medication. The team will work long into the evening, perhaps through the night, as the remaining crew members anxiously await their opportunity to join their team and provide additional care and support.

You can find more of their story in the Vintage Wings article, and on the Albatross Haiti Relief Mission Web site. They're urgently in need of funds for fuel and other flying expenses, so if you want to toss a few dollars their way, they'd be very grateful. Funds can be directed through a church, or directly - see the Web site for details.

It's good to see an old aircraft returning to prominence to ferry supplies when no other means was available, and good to hear of the enthusiastic participation of all concerned. There are many more photographs of the Albatross at Vintage Wings. Recommended reading for all aviation enthusiasts.

Peter