First thing I said when I saw the title was oh sh-
I’m looking at the press releases, they found the plane. Will copy and paste its contents… according to earlier releases it was only about 9 minutes away from home when it made last contact
MEDIA RELEASE
MISSING AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN FOUND
PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Wednesday 12 August 2009 10:00:
Airlines of Papua New Guinea has provided further details concerning the events surrounding the disappearance of one of its Twin Otter turboprop aircraft following extensive reports in the media
.
Airlines PNG can confirm that at approximately 8:40am the missing aircraft (Twin Otter P2-MCB) was found at an altitude of 5,500ft in the Kokoda area. Visual inspections from a helicopter showed no immediate signs of activity.
A PNG Police response team landed a short distance from the site, but deteriorating weather andlimited communications have hampered further information from this team.
Three helicopters, including a Royal Australian Navy Seaking are operating in the area, with the intention of landing further personnel to assist in the rescue. An RAAF Caribou has also been forward positioned to Kokoda airstrip to assist.
A Command and Control Dornier aircraft is holding position above the area to co-ordinate activities.
Further update bulletins will be issued by the airline after search efforts are commenced tomorrow.
Err… yeah, it must drop down to the low 80’s at night this time of year in Papua New Guinea. I’d be more concerned about snakes and bugs than frostbite.
Inclement weather can take a form other than snow and freezing temperatures.
The Kokoda area gets almost 200 inches of rain annually and if the aircraft is at an altitude of ~5500 feet as reported rescuers will be freezing their asses off from relatively low temperatures in rain and fog.
Not to mention the difficulties that can arise from bad weather when attempting to land rescuers in remote areas.
I think you should have used the term “wet season” instead of “winter”. PNG is only a few hundred miles below the equator and the seasonal climatic change isn’t very significant. It’s always hot and humid with the accompanying bad weather.
In a past life I spent 3 months in Madang Harbor and hated every minute of it.
In regards to the crash… depending on the circumstances, I couldn’t think of a ship I would rather make a controlled “off airport” landing in than a Twotter. Built like a tank and stalls at 5 knots. Let’s hope for the best!