A life-saving coincidence
Story Glen Sim
A broken down aircraft is a frustration for both the pilots and the engineers. Sometimes it is hard to see God’s workings in the breakdowns. Not this time though…
There is a lot happening this Wednesday morning. Pilot Martin Koehler is preparing to fly to Malamaunda with Engineer Bert Mostert. Bert is going to assist with maintenance on an unserviceable aircraft that broke down the day before.
The pilot of the broken down aircraft, Sean Dekelver, was forced to spend the night in Malamaunda. These overnight stays are not all that uncommon.
At Hagen airport the weather is murky after heavy early morning rain and the cloud cover is down below the mountains. Martin and Bert wait until Sean, the pilot of the aircraft at Malamaunda, can be contacted. (Due to unusual atmospheric conditions yesterday Sean was unable to contact Flight Services to report his safe arrival at Malamaunda, and then his aircraft wouldn’t start to continue his day’s flights.)
Finally Martin gets the all-clear to proceed just as the cloud starts to thin above the Hagen airport. The 40-minute flight to Malamaunda in the MAF Airvan is spent dodging rain and big build-ups, but the weather clears as they continue west.
As God would have it, on the very airstrip Sean is stranded at, an urgent medevac – involving a baby – needs to take place. For Pilot Martin and Engineer Bert, this (somewhat frustrating) trip out to fix a plane has become a matter of life and death.
Sean and the parents of the sick baby are waiting as Martin taxis to the remote airstrip’s parking bay. Baby Dikson has a distended belly from a bowel blockage and his parents are justifiably concerned. There is no medical assistance available for several days’ walk.
With Bert and his tools offloaded and parents Debi and Didimus with baby Dikson safely on board, Martin takes off for Wewak where the ambulance is alerted to pick up the trio at the airport. After thirty minutes in the air Martin parks the Airvan in front of the MAF Wewak hangar and the waiting ambulance. They are soon safely on their way to the hospital.
God’s wonders never cease and He does work in mysterious ways to bring needed help that is not humanly possible to arrange. MAF is God’s instrument and He uses aircraft as His tools to save lives.