Shot Fired at MAF Twin Otter – Papua New Guinea

A shot was fired at a MAF Twin Otter aircraft as it was landing at a remote airstrip in Papua New Guinea just one day after the tragic Airlines PNG crash near Kokoda that claimed the lives of all on board.

The two incidents are not connected.

The MAF Twin Otter piloted by Richard Marples and Greg Falland was on its final approach to Aiyura airstrip near the community of Ukarumpa at 9.30am on Wednesday August 12 when a bullet fired from a nearby hillside pierced the rear of the cabin and ejected through the roof.

Operations Manager Geoff Calder in the seat where a cabin attendant would have been located. Note steel tracer indicating the trajectory of the bullet.

Neither pilot was aware of the incident at the time and nobody on board was injured. The pilots later reported they heard a sound like a cargo strap breaking and slapping a coffee bag. This could have been the sound of the bullet passing through the cabin and is consistent with reports of tribal violence taking place at the time. There had also been reports of intermittent gunfire all day at Aiyura.

The bullet hole was found on a subsequent walk-around inspection as the hole is not immediately visible from normal ground perspective.

The bullet entered the rear cabin door and exited through the roof narrowly missing fuel cells, the aircraft’s battery and the elevator trim control cables. Had it hit any of those, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

Damage to the exterior skin of the aircraft has been repaired and it has been released back into service.

There was no cabin attendant on board at the time. If there had been and he was sitting upright, it would have missed his nose by five centimetres. If he was leaning forward or looking out of the window, he could have been killed.

MAF PNG Program Manager, Patrick Williams, said he believed the shot was fired from a hill at the end of Aiyura runway, at Ukarumpa, SIL’s headquarters.

“We believe it was immediately before some houses on the hill were set alight and 15 houses were burnt to the ground,” he added.

“We therefore believe that it was a random act of violence rather than (an attack) directed against MAF.

The external bullet hole

“Aiyura airstrip was closed immediately, and we followed SIL’s advice about re-opening it. Limited SIL operations to return (their) pilots and family members to Aiyura were resumed over the next two days.”

A report was made at the time of the incident to the Kainantu police station. It is believed but not confirmed that rascals broke into the police station that morning and stole all the police guns. These may have been used in local gun violence around Ukarumpa and possibly in the incident involving the MAF aircraft.

“I thank the Lord for his protection in this incident, that no-one was injured and the aircraft sustained only superficial damage,” said Mr Williams.

“We consider it a random act of violence at a time of tribal fighting and that MAF was not specifically targeted.”

Via www.maf.org.au