Samaritan Aviation Float Planes Deliver Hope and Support

“The need is great, and the need is everywhere,” noted Mark Palm, co-founder and CEO of Samaritan Aviation. He was referring to the humanitarian work that the 12-year-old non-profit Christian aviation organization conducts in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, along with the need for these types of aerially supported operations worldwide.

Helping others is something Palm has been doing most of his life after becoming increasingly interested in humanitarian service (and flying) growing up. As a teenager, he learned what it takes to be a force of good while working with his parents as they ran a homeless mission in Santa Cruz, California.

In his pursuit to positively impact others, Palm traveled the world and came to learn about a country where this selfless type of service had become increasingly popular: Papua New Guinea – the world’s second-largest island. Palm became acquainted with the country’s residents and ascertained that ministry in Papua New Guinea would be best supported using aircraft.

While there are several aviation humanitarian organizations with a presence in the country, Samaritan Aviation is the only one that operates float planes. Samaritan Aviation pilots, volunteers and those they serve rely upon a fleet of two amphibious Cessna 206’s that each fly around 250 hours per year. Throughout the organization’s history, they have flown more than 2,400 missions, all completed at no cost to the people in the remote communities.

In 2010, when the organization was founded, Palm shipped their first aircraft in a container from California across thousands of miles. Upon entry, it was the first float plane that had been in the country for nearly five decades. With Samaritan Aviation focusing its efforts upon a population that lives alongside an 800-mile stretch of the Sepik River, the access to floatplanes has allowed them to support the country in a way it has never been before.

“There are only about three runways you can land a plane on along the river. But with our planes, we can land anywhere on the water. We can turn a one to three-day trip by canoe into a 45-minute to an hour flight and fly seven days a week.”

The river’s everchanging conditions is only one of the challenging factors the half a dozen volunteer pilots must contend with while transporting critical and non-critical medical supplies, mission workers or healthcare workers.

“The river changes every time we fly. It rises and falls pretty dramatically throughout its length. At times, it almost becomes a lake as it overflows the banks. One week you can land and pull the plane up to the clinic a hundred feet away, and the next week there is a thousand-foot sandbar there.”

“Also, there are often fishing nets in the water you have to dodge or crocodiles poking their heads up, people in canoes, and other factors. The river’s color is a light chocolate, so you can only see an inch below the surface. Consequently, pilots have to make a lot of critical decisions from the air.”

The ability to make flexible and concise decisions is key and continually exercised competency of Samaritan Aviation pilots.

“You quickly learn how to make critical decisions and love people – that’s why we are there. Overall, it is a rapidly changing environment. We had our first live birth a few weeks ago in the plane, although we have had a lot of close calls over the years. When we do medical transports, patients’ heads are only a few feet away from the pilot, so it takes a certain mentality to fly in this capacity. A big part of flying is decision-making for our pilots and how they do under extremely stressful situations like someone dying in-flight, bad weather, aircraft running rough, etc.”

Palm also provided a general overview of the organization’s pilot qualifications and the financial contributions they bring with them. “Our pilots are required to be licensed A&P mechanics, commercially and instrument-rated, and have the heart to serve people. All our staff families raise their own salaries from their friends and church.”

In addition to this dedicated pilot training program, Samaritan Aviation has a strong operational focus on its other most important asset – the airplanes. In December of this year, Samaritan Aviation is expecting its third amphibious 206 to come online in Papua New Guinea. “This new aircraft will allow us to expand across the mountains to the south side of the island, where we will begin serving another 200,000 people in the remote water communities of the Western Province.”

And of course, continued maintenance of the company’s existing aircraft is of the utmost importance to the organization and its served population. “Maintenance is always a challenge. But we have been blessed in July of 2021 to have added our first full-time maintenance director. Additionally, all of our pilots are A&P’s. We are establishing a good system of what will need maintenance and when, but sometimes you are still down for a week waiting on a part.”

Corrosion especially poses a challenge for the Samaritan Aviation team. “Where we operate is a very corrosive environment. Our hangar is literally a thousand feet from the ocean, so corrosion is one of the biggest things we fight with our planes. We keep a close eye on those things.”

After operating in Papua New Guinea’s conditions for more than a decade and developing a good relationship and strong buy-in from the national government, Palm anticipates Samaritan Aviation will continue to grow in upcoming years. The organization has identified another portion of the country where its amphibious expertise would provide unrivaled value. Palm believes adding a new class of aircraft to the fleet would magnify their impact upon those they serve.

“We are looking at the Caravan and Kodiak as we expand into the island’s south side. It is a much bigger area to cover compared to where we are currently operating. We would start with a 206, but I have a feeling we will be in the turbines really quick once we get down there. But so much of it comes down to money.”

And like other successful 501c3 organizations, much of Samaritan Aviation’s operations are funded by passionate volunteers, contributions from strategic partners, and some foundations.
“Western Skyways does all of our engines at the cost of parts. They have done four engines for us now and have been a huge help and tremendous partner. We have also partnered with Aerocet Floats for parts and expertise.”

These contributions from various parties, whether time or monetary-based, are each integral in Samaritan Aviation being able to meet its lifesaving mission.

Learn more at samaritanaviation.org.