Flight Lieutenant Dan Rich and Corporal Luke Murdoch ready to board a Caribou to deliver humanitarian supplies to New Guinea. Photo by Michael Chambers

By Mark Tanzer

REMOTE communities in Papua New Guinea received much-needed medical supplies last week thanks to a Caribou crew from RAAF Base Townsville.

The crew from No. 38 Squadron (Townsville Detachment) combined a week of routine flight training with the opportunity to deliver equipment including an x-ray machine, operating table, blood analyser and dialysis machine.

Caribou pilot Flight Lieutenant Dan Rich said PNG’s rugged terrain and high mountain ranges offered challenging training for aircrews.

“There’s a number of communities and villages that can only be reached by air, including one small airfield 9000 feet up,” FLTLT Rich said.

“The Caribou is magnificent in these conditions. There’s no other aircraft type that can land at some of these places carrying the sort of payload that we can.”

He said it was common for the crews to deliver aid while training in PNG, with humanitarian agencies, government and non-government aid organisations coordinating the effort. Items delivered on past trips had included books and learning materials for schools.

The crew that delivered the supplies also included Squadron Leader John Davidson, Flight Lieutenant Martin Cram, Flight Sergeant Jason Minns and Corporal Luke Murdoch. For some members it was their second trip to the area.

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