Sudden Weather Changes, Difficult Topography Make Flying In Papua Challenging

Jakarta, Dec 12 (Antara) - Sudden weather changes taking place in the hinterlands of Papua, whose geography is mountainous-with an altitude of between 500 and more than 5,000 meters above sea level-is the main constraint that flights encounter in the eastern most region of Indonesia, a helicopter pilot from Ukraine said. "The most striking condition while flying in Papua is that the weather will often change very suddenly," Verba Igor said on Thursday. According to him, these sudden weather changes took place in the air pressure, wind direction and humidity, which often impacted the flight plan. In addition to climate change, which is difficult to estimate, the mountainous landscape of Papua, with its steep sloping valleys is also challenging for helicopter pilots. "Thick clouds often appear so we have frequently maneuver the aircraft to avoid obstacles," Verba, who has been transporting heavy equipment from Nabire to the Intan Jaya districts for several weeks, stated. He added that flying in Papua, especially in the mountainous areas required a special aircraft that is able to fly in high altitudes of above 15,000 feet or 4,572 meters. Besides, the aircraft should also be able to land on a short runway with a load of about three to four tons. "The MI8 helicopter is suitable for air operations in Papua because it is able to fly in both plain and mountainous areas," Verba pointed out. Meanwhile, air transportation businessman Satya Graha Utama added that the geography and weather of Papua are special, compared with other parts of Indonesia, and that the government needs to issue a special flight regulation for the province. That special regulation will cover not only the type of aircraft, but also the qualification of a pilot, who must master the technique of flying in Papua despite its difficult weather and topography. Also, a pilot must rely on visual flight rules, which are a set of rules used by the pilot to control the aircraft by looking directly at the objects all around, because there is no avionics equipment installed on the ground. "With regards to this issue, Indonesia can refer to flight regulations of other countries, which have similar conditions as the Papua region, such as Australia and Canada," Satya said.