Participants: Narrator: Chet Damron
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000039A
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00:01 Narrator: Adventist World Aviation has mission outposts
00:04 stationed all around the world with the mission of brining 00:08 humanitarian aid and the love of Jesus, 00:11 too difficult to reach areas. 00:14 Often the missions keep very busy flying med-evict flights, 00:19 delivering critically ill patients from remote jungles 00:22 to a place where they can receive a higher level of care. 00:26 These flights are not only lifesaving, but they share 00:31 the love of Jesus to bring hope to the hopeless. 00:36 Jud: Nicaragua, is a very unique project as are most of 00:40 AWA projects. 00:41 Projects, they are in areas where access is limited. 00:45 They are in places where they are serving people, who have 00:49 have unique needs for access to medicine. 00:53 Have unique needs as far as transportation. 00:55 And the airplane is able to provide that service to those 00:59 people in a very special way. 01:02 It has a huge impact on the lives of the people 01:05 living in these areas. 01:06 You see this project meets the needs of the Miskito people 01:10 in a wide variety of ways. 01:58 Narrator: One of Adventist World Aviation's outposts is situated 02:02 in the northeastern corner of Nicaragua. 02:05 Here Clint Hanley and his family dedicate their lives 02:09 to serving the local Miskito Indians. 02:12 Clint: I'm Clint Hanley and I live in northeast Nicaragua, 02:17 in the upper corner along the boarder of the Rio Cocoa 02:21 with the border of Honduras and I live here with my family, 02:27 2 children and my wife, who is a nurse 02:29 and we fly this airplane, a Cessna 172. 02:33 For medical work all around this region, 02:38 covering about 150 miles in all directions. 02:42 Narrator: Clint and his wife Marilyn live in Tranquera, 02:45 Nicaragua on a mission base, that they constructed themselves 02:49 over 10 years ago. 02:52 In the beginning, there was no infrastructure to support 02:55 any communications, or medical evacuations. 02:59 After a few years of hard work, the Hanley's 03:02 procured an air plane, built a runway themselves 03:05 and successfully implemented the only humanitarian aid 03:10 aviation service in the country. 03:13 This airplane is the first and only aircraft that flies medical 03:17 evacuations from remote villages and delivers patients 03:20 to a larger town called Puerto Cabezas. 03:24 Clint: Since we started flying 7 years ago, I have flown 530 03:28 patients from remote communities or from hospital to hospital 03:31 Before we came, the people got to the hospital by boats, 03:34 by road, by truck. 03:37 To give you an example, to fly from here to San Carlos 03:39 is 35 minutes for me, to get them to the hospital 03:43 from the time I get the call, until they actually arrive 03:46 in the hospital is approximately one and a half hours. 03:49 If they were to take a boat, there's no roads, so they would 03:52 have to take a boat, there's on average of one boat a day, 03:56 but sometimes there will be a day or two or three, 03:57 that go by, that there's no boats. 03:59 They're random. And the boats take 12 hours. 04:01 And usually they leave in the morning. 04:04 So if the accident happens later in the day, they're having to 04:07 wait through the night, until the next morning and then hoping 04:09 that they can find a boat with room in it, 04:11 then they ride that boat 12 hours to get to the hospital. 04:14 That's fairly average for a lot of the patients, that need 04:17 to come to the hospital. 04:18 So you can see where if it's a snake bite, a lot of the people 04:22 we carry are pregnant mothers and babies and either 04:25 the pregnancy has a problem, or the mother has had the baby 04:28 right away, or there's a complication between 04:30 the mother and the baby. 04:31 About 70% of our transports are related to that. 04:35 Narrator: It took many years of working with government 04:38 officials, but Clint was finally able to win their trust. 05:07 Clint: There is none, none other available in all of Nicaragua 05:11 doing this. 05:12 And so it's a vital piece of help, that the government 05:16 and no other aid agency was able to offer to the people 05:20 to save lives in transport. 05:23 Narrator: Clint is now well known amongst the natives 05:25 of this region and everyone knows, that they can call on him 05:29 when they are in need, or have an emergency. 05:34 Relationships like these aren't easy to develop, 05:36 but the Hanley's have lived here for 10 years, and the natives 05:41 have come to accept the missionaries 05:43 as their own Miskito people. 05:48 In this part of Central America, passengers often ride on top 05:52 of a fully loaded cargo bus, which is a common 05:57 and yet dangerous mode of transportation. 06:00 Today, Clint gets word, that one of these cargo buses overturned 06:04 in a ditch and many of its passengers were badly wounded, 06:08 some killed. 06:10 Clint: So its Dr Zunigate in Waspam, and he has a child 06:15 with some brain trouble. 06:17 And they need to go to Managua. So what I do in this case is 06:21 transfer him from the hospital in Waspam to Puerto Cabezas. 06:26 Narrator: Early the next morning Clint prepares to leave and 06:29 collect his awaiting patient, a young 2 year old boy, 06:33 who was crushed under an over turned cargo bus. 06:38 Before he can take off, he must first inspect his aircraft 06:41 and do a preflight inspection. 06:44 This procedure requires Clint to look over every part 06:48 of the aircraft as well check the oil and fuel. 06:52 It's important to make sure everything is fully operational 06:55 before they begin any flight. 06:57 Ones the plane is cleared for flight, Clint taxies 07:00 from the hangar to the runway. 07:02 Clint and his family cleared and constructed this runway 07:06 8 years ago. 07:08 Having the hangar and runway just steps away 07:11 from the Hanley home, expedites the med-evac process. 07:15 Clint now does a run-up to make sure the engine and avionics 07:19 are all running properly. 07:21 He has an electronic pre-flight checklist that he goes through 07:24 before he makes each flight. 07:27 Safety and protocol are extremely important 07:29 when it comes to aviation. 07:32 Clint takes no short cuts when it comes to safety. 07:38 Clint: Ok- Right mag. Both. Left mag. Both. Temperature is good. 07:44 Pressure is good. Charging. Suctions good. Set to go. 07:51 Narrator: Everything seems to be in order and Clint is ready 07:54 to take off and head to Waspam to pick up his very sick patient 07:59 Clint guides this plane down the gravel runway and races 08:03 off into the skies. 08:19 It's a short flight to Waspam. The skies look promising today. 08:24 This is a familiar journey for Clint; many of his patients must 08:28 be picked up from Waspam and taken to Puerto Cabezas. 10:03 Today's flight is the only option of transportation 10:06 for this young boy. 10:08 If he were to travel by road, he would likely have to travel 10:12 in a similar bus, that he had his accident in. 10:15 Additionally, the roads are terribly bad, 10:18 riddled with potholes. 10:21 This young boy, who has a fractured skull and likely 10:25 a brain injury would have to bounce down an incredibly 10:29 bad dirt road for over five hours. 10:33 This journey would definitely worsen his condition 10:37 and potentially end his life. 10:40 But thank God, this young boy won't have to risk 10:43 land travel today. 10:46 Adventist World Aviation is honored to provide lifesaving 10:50 med-evac flights in difficult to reach areas of the world. 10:54 Just by looking out the window of the aircraft, one can easily 10:58 see how rural and thick the jungle is here. 11:03 There are no roads visible and often villagers have to travel 11:08 down a slow winding river to reach aid. 11:11 But with lifesaving flights, the patient can be brought 11:17 to the aid they so desperately need. 11:34 Narrator: Soon the sights of Waspam comes into view. 11:37 This town is used as a port since it is situated 11:41 on the Rio Cocoa River. 11:43 They do have a small runway that is mostly only used by Clint. 11:48 Because the runway doesn't have constant air traffic control, 11:52 the locals don't observe safety guidelines and use the runway 11:56 as part of their daily road system. 11:59 People drive, walk and let their livestock graze on the runway. 12:04 So for this reason, Clint makes a pass over the runway first 12:08 and flies low to the ground to scare off anyone, 12:10 who might be on the runway. 12:13 He then turns the aircraft around and approaches 12:17 for final decent. 12:34 Narrator: This runway is very narrow and not well maintained 12:36 by the town. 12:38 Clint must fully concentrate on his landing to make sure 12:41 he stays on the narrow path. 12:51 Narrator: Clint skillfully brings the aircraft down 12:54 and makes contact with the gravel. 12:57 He has arrived safely to collect his patient. 13:00 As Clint taxies the aircraft off the runway, he looks for 13:04 an ambulance, that should be waiting with his patient 13:06 at the gate. 13:08 But to his disappointment the ambulance has not arrived. 13:11 Time is very critical factor in these situations. 13:15 Clint calls the hospital to check on the status 13:18 of the young boy, he has to med-evac. 13:21 When he reaches the doctors, they have a surprise for Clint. 13:26 Another patient, a 24 year old woman, who was in the bus 13:30 accident, has taken a terrible turn for the worst. 13:33 After careful evaluation the doctor determines that she 13:36 needs this lifesaving med-evac flight immediately. 13:40 They ask Clint if he would be willing to make 2 med-evac 13:43 flights today. One for this unconscious woman and the second 13:48 for the 2 year old boy. Clint accepts the challenge. 13:52 But informs the doctors, that in order to fit all the flights 13:55 into today they must hurry and deliver the patients 13:59 to the airstrips immediately. 14:01 The remote runways here in this part of Nicaragua 14:04 have no lighting. This means that no flight can be made 14:08 after the sun sets. If Clint is to make 2 med-evac flights today 14:13 he must race against the clock. 14:16 While Clint waits for his patient to arrive, 14:19 he witnesses first, hand just how poorly misused the runway is 14:25 here in Waspam. 14:26 The gates are open, the villagers resume motor and foot 14:30 traffic on the runway. 14:31 This practice is unsafe for both the village as well as pilots 14:35 flying into the runway. 14:37 Granted, the general public access to the runway degrades 14:42 and ruins the runway. It creates potholes and grooves in the dirt 14:47 Not to mention the garbage, that is disposed of on the runway. 14:51 The litter carelessly tossed aside on this runway can have 14:55 great consequences for an aircraft. 14:59 But without anyone to enforce the rules, Clint is helpless 15:03 to change the situation. 15:05 While he waits for the patient to arrive, Clint makes use 15:10 of his time and talks again to the local law enforcement, 15:12 and request that they reconsider permanently closing the runway 15:16 to the general public. 15:19 Finally the ambulance pulls up next to the airplane. 15:22 There is only room for 2 passengers on today's flight. 15:27 A nurse will accompany the unconscious woman on her flight 15:30 to Puerto Cabezas. 15:31 Doctors, nurses and family members all exit the vehicle. 15:35 The hospital here doesn't have proper transport equipment. 15:40 So they deliver the patient on a bed mattress. 15:43 The staff pulls the patient from the ambulance and carries her 15:48 to the airplane. 15:50 None is quite sure how to handle the poor woman's limp body. 15:54 Clint takes over and gives instructions on how to place her 15:58 on the backseat of the plane. 15:59 He then will properly strap her in. 16:04 It takes several men to wrap the patient in a blanket, 16:07 then carefully lift her into the airplane. 16:11 There isn't much space to maneuver, so it takes a few 16:15 attempts for the men to place her in the rear of the plane. 16:19 Once inside the nurse helps to adjust her in the seat and make 16:23 her as comfortable as possible. Clint fastens her safely 16:27 into the seat and gets last minute instructions 16:30 from her nurses. 16:32 Communication in this part of the world is very unreliable. 16:36 So Clint must often be a middleman 16:39 between medical providers. 16:43 Once everyone is safely loaded into the plane, 16:46 Clint wastes no time and begins to prepare for takeoff. 16:50 As with every flight he has a preflight checklist 16:53 that he goes through. 16:54 Safety is Adventist World Aviation's top priority. 16:59 The institution has many safety protocols in place 17:04 in all their mission outposts to minimize any risk. 17:07 At the top of his checklist is to always have prayer 17:12 before every single flight. 17:23 Clint: Preflight inspection... 17:43 Narrator: Clint starts the engine. Every moment maters 17:46 in today's flight. He must deliver this patient 17:49 as soon as possible and then make the journey back to pick up 17:53 another critically ill young boy. 17:55 without hesitation Clint pushes the aircraft forward. 17:59 Within moments they are airborne The tires leave the rocky runway 18:04 and they take flight over the jungle canopy. 18:20 Once Clint get to his desired flying altitude, he is able to 18:24 share some details he learned from the patient's nurses. 18:39 This patient is just one of many that were injured 18:41 in the tragic bus accident. 18:44 A fully loaded bus ran into a ditch and overturned, onto 18:49 it's passengers, that were riding on the top of the vehicle 18:52 Many were crushed to death. Others, like today's patient 18:57 very seriously injured. 19:00 But thankfully, Adventist World Aviation is here to help 19:03 and offer med-evac flights to get these patients to the care 19:08 they need, as quickly as possible. 19:10 Without this flight this patient would have no other choice, 19:14 but to travel in a truck, over very treacherous roads, 19:18 on a 5 hours journey. In her current state the patient might 19:22 not survive, such a treacherous journey. 19:25 Her ailing condition demands, that she gets the medical care 19:28 immediately. 19:29 With this flight Clint will have her to the hospital 19:33 in less than an hours' time. 19:49 Thus far the flight is going smoothly and without obstacle. 19:54 From the air it is clear to see, why ground transportation 19:57 is so difficult. Why, as far as the eye can see, there is just 20:03 dense jungle with only rivers cutting through the trees. 20:07 Without this flight this patient might not survive the accident 20:10 she endured. 20:12 Thankfully they are almost halfway to their destination. 20:16 And she will be turned over to the doctors, 20:19 who can properly treat her condition. 20:22 As Clint look unto the horizon, he sees dark clouds 20:25 looming in the distance. 20:44 Storms are not a welcome sight to any small aircraft pilot. 20:49 Thankfully, Clint has much experience in flying 20:52 in this type of weather conditions. 21:10 Clint does all he can to avoid flying in turbulent weather. 21:14 the clouds completely surround the aircraft, 21:17 and there is no visibility outside the aircraft. 21:21 In order to keep this plane on course, Clint must fly by 21:25 what is called IFR. IFR stands for instrument flight rules. 21:31 It calls for instrument flight, because the pilot navigates only 21:36 by reference to the instruments in the cockpit of the aircraft. 21:40 Clint is able to climb above the clouds and away from the storm. 21:45 The young patient in the back remains undisturbed 21:48 as they travel safely on. 22:10 When flying in this dense, thick fog, Clint is completely relying 22:15 on his instruments to keep him on course 22:17 and at a safe altitude. 22:20 He has zero visibility out of his windows. 22:23 The clouds have completely engulfed the airplane. 22:27 As an extra safety precaution, Clint keeps close communication 22:32 with the awaiting control tower at the destination. 22:47 The control tower assures Clint, that there is no other aircraft 22:50 traveling in his line of flight. 22:52 The control tower monitors all traffic in the area 22:55 and communicates with aircrafts to keep midair collisions 22:59 from happening. 23:00 Especially in this type of weather with zero visibility. 23:05 Clint gets another call from the doctors of the village 23:08 he just left. 23:27 They have a third patient, that needs to be med-evaced today. 23:30 After dropping off this patient, Clint will turn around 23:34 and collect two more critically injured children, that need 23:38 immediate medical care today. 23:41 Currently this aviation mission base is the only humanitarian 23:45 aviation support in the entire country of Nicaragua. 23:49 There are no other aviation projects or med-evac services 23:53 to help the people there in Nicaragua. 23:56 This project is the only noncommercial aircraft 24:00 allowed to fly in the skies of Nicaragua. 24:16 Clint must begin his descent into the Puerto Cabezas airport. 24:21 As he lowers his altitude, he is able to finally regain some 24:25 of his visibility. 24:39 The journey for the unconscious woman is now drawing to an end. 24:42 The view of Puerto Cabezas is on the horizon, 24:45 just a few short miles and they'll be safely 24:48 on the ground again. 24:49 Clint reviews his landing procedure to ensure 24:52 everything is prepared for landing. 24:59 The runway is a welcome sight to all. 25:02 Clint makes his final turn. Lines up with the runway 25:05 for landing. This is a nice long runway. 25:09 So he has plenty of room to land a small plane. 25:12 Clint lowers the plane until finally feels those wheels 25:16 of the plane touch the ground. 25:19 Ahhh, we've arrived safely. 25:23 Clint taxies over to the terminal area, where emergency 25:26 medical staff await. 25:28 Everyone here knows Clint well, since they work together 25:31 so frequently. 25:32 The patient seems to have faired well during the flight. 25:36 Now that they are on the ground, there is no time to waste. 25:40 Clint must quickly turn over his patient to the ambulance, 25:44 than race back to Waspam to pick up another batch of patients. 25:51 The ambulance drives right onto the tarmac and pulls up 25:54 right next to the plane. 25:56 Paramedics spring into action and transfer the patient. 26:00 They gently pull her from the plane 26:02 and transfer to a stretcher. 26:04 She is still completely unconscious. 26:07 Showing no signs of awakening. 26:11 The paramedics can see, that she needs immediate 26:14 medical attention. 26:16 With a few careful moves, they place her in the ambulance 26:19 and whisk her away to the hospital. 26:22 As they drive through the village streets, the siren 26:25 rings aloud to announce the arrival of this patient. 26:27 Clint calls ahead to the hospital, so they prepare 26:31 a space for her. And she can be seen by a doctor right away. 26:37 Thankfully, the airport is only a few short miles 26:40 from the hospital. 26:41 It will only be a few more minutes before she'll be seen 26:44 by the doctor and start receiving lifesaving treatment. 26:49 As they pull up to the hospital, the staff works quickly 26:52 to get the patient inside. 26:55 There are many other patients waiting inside to be seen. 26:58 But this emergent patient takes precedent. 27:02 She is taken straight back to a waiting physician. 27:06 Although it's been a busy one, this day is only half over 27:10 for Clint. 27:12 He must now venture back out into the stormy skies 27:16 to give yet another med-evac flight before it gets dark. 27:21 Clint: There is our trip. Let's see. 27:28 Take off, passenger briefing is good, preflight inspection 27:31 fuel sometimes 3 27:33 Narrator: With no time to waste, he starts his engines and turns 27:37 the plane back onto the runway. Clint gets clearance from the 27:41 control tower for takeoff. 27:52 So without hesitation he races down the runway and turns his 27:55 plane north to Waspam. 28:23 Busy days like today are very frequent here in the Adventist 28:26 World Aviation mission outpost in Nicaragua. 28:29 While they might be tired, the Adventist World Aviation pilots 28:33 would have it no other way. 28:36 There are countless ways aviation can help save lives 28:39 here in the jungle. 28:40 They find their work here very fulfilling, 28:43 as they know, they are on God's great mission. |
Revised 2016-12-15