Belinda & Esther at Provo Air Service
Any time a pilot begins a story in this fashion, you know something out of the ordinary is coming. Experienced pilots are happiest when things go as planned. There is an old expression that describes flying as “hours and hours of sheer boredom punctuated by start terror.” While this experience has already been anything but boring, it has held several moments of high drama rather than stark terror.
Today was no different. We took off from Provo, Turks & Caicos around 8:30 AM under beautiful clear skies and light winds. It was the best weather of the trip so far and we thought maybe we were finally done with the clouds & rain that have plagued us each day. We have received wonderful service from everyone throughout the Bahamas. Belinda keeps all the relief pilots stocked with sandwiches and drinks at Provo. Esther works the counter and handles our flight plans, fuel orders and paperwork with a smile. Both of these ladies are truly committed to helping with the effort.
As we climbed to 8500 feet and turned southwest towards Haiti, we relaxed and settled in for the 1.6 hour flight. After 30 minutes, we flew up over an undercast of clouds which stretched to the horizon. With no weather reporting from Haiti, we had to hope we would be able to find a way to descend below the clouds once in the vicinity. The pilots are all struggling with the weather and the lack of information. We try to communicate over the radio to share any observations and report on conditions, but it is often hard to reach anyone. The distances are great and the radio will not reach more than around 60 miles or so. Five aircraft took off yesterday for Haiti but only two made it all the way. The rest, including us, had to stop short or return to Nassau due to the weather.
Vacuum gauge showing zero instrument air
As we levelled off, I engaged the autopilot and noticed that it was doing a poor job of holding altitude. After trying a couple of tests, and noticing the attitude indicator showing an incorrect reading, it became apparent we had experienced the loss of our vacuum pump. This device provides a flow of air to spin the gyros in two of the primary flight instruments necessary for flight in the clouds when no visible horizon is available. With no vacuum, we have very little capability to operate safely in poor weather. Vacuum pumps are prone to failure so our airplane is equipped with a spare pump that is supposed to activate in the event of a primary pump failure. For some reason, the standby pump did not activate and could not be brought on line manually.
Covering these instruments helps avoid spatial disorientation
This created a real problem in that we could not safely descend below the clouds unless we could do so visually and we really did not wish to fly back to Provo without delivering the supplies we had carried so many miles already. At this point we were within 30 miles of the Haitian coastline so we flew along looking for a break in the clouds. Finally we spotted a small hole that we could slip through and we made a rapid descent to 3000 feet which put us barely below the overcast. Visibility was worse underneath, running around 6 miles, with little definition between the dark gray sea and the slightly lighter grey overcast.
The north coast of Haiti obscured by mist and low ceilings
The lack of an autopilot meant I needed to pay careful attention to our attitude using the limited outside horizon references available. We flew through a light mist until we spotted the coastline. With the hills of the north coast in sight it was easier to remain oriented and we began looking for the best way to cross the mainland. By using the GPS with its excellent terrain mapping, Curt found a valley that would let us make our way to the south between the higher hills on either side. Having a competent co-pilot abord is a huge safety benefit as the risks of today’s situation would have been much worse had I been alone. The visibility finally started to improve and we came out on the south shoreline to find the skies clearing somewhat.
Canadian Air Traffic Controller at Jacmel
As we made the turn eastward towards Jacmel, we finally established radio contact with the Canadian military who gave us the runway information, wind and altimeter setting. (If you have been following our progress on the tracking page, you will be able to see Jacmel. Zoom the hybrid view in really close and the runway shows the black marks from the C-130 transports that have been flying into the 3500 foot strip. You will also be able to see the tents set up by the military guys. They have been in Jacmel since the earthquake, living in tough conditions and doing an amazing job.) As we were unloading there was a U.S. Army helicopter inbound with an external sling load of supplies. After unloading and paying our landing fee ($22.00), climbed back in and took off. We climbed through the valley until we found a nice opening in the clouds, climbed up to 9500 feet and turned towards Provo for fuel.
On the way back to Provo
The trip back to Provo was uneventful unless you count flying over a solid undercast for almost 200 miles. Finally we left the clouds behind, landed and refuelled. While on the ground, I spoke with a mechanic in Ft. Lauderdale about the vacuum pump problem. We grabbed a PB & J sandwich and bottle of water from Esther at the Provo FBO and took off again. We made a quick stop in Nassau two hours later, picked up a change of clothes, filed our e-apis manifest with Homeland Security and flew on to Ft. Lauderdale. After landing and clearing customs, we turned the airplane over to the mechanics. I called Dale Faulkner for information on the vacuum system and asked him to inform the mechanics here about some possible fixes for our problems. As always, Dale offered some effective solutions that will hopefully speed the repairs along. If all goes well, we should be back in business by mid-day tomorrow. We will haul a load of food and medicine over to Nassau and plan to go back to Haiti on Sunday.
We have more photos and videos to upload from today, but we need to get the camera from the airplane in the morning.
We are consuming around $650 per day in fuel so if anyone wishes to make a tax deductible contribution, please visit the flight assist website, www.flightassist.org and click on the “donate” button. Any amount will help. Also feel free to share this blog with your friends and associates.
In summary, we flew nearly a thousand miles today, delivered another load of medical supplies into a remote airstrip and overcame a serious equipment failure. All in all, a great day. Tomorrow, the mission continues. Thanks to all of you for your interest, prayers and support
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