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It's a rainy Monday

It's a rainy Monday morning. We're not going to be flying anywhere for a quite a bit. On top of that, we don't have many planes to fly.

Dan Rogers was on call this weekend. He flew both days. Yesterday he was on a medical emergency flight near the Peruvian border and found a soft spot on the air. As the nosewheel sunk into the hole, the prop struck the ground. This has happened to almost every one of the pilots here. With all the rain around here, soft s are a daily challenge. Sandy left at 4 PM to go get him. MAF policy says that once a prop hits the ground, the plane can't be flown until the engine is changed. Sandy picked up a couple patients on the way back, one of them being a snake bite victim, and they landed about 6 PM. Meanwhile, Dave McCleery was out picking up a couple patients. One of them was in very serious condition, and Dave asked a doctor and ambulance to meet him when he landed. The ambulance was there, but no doctor. The Hospital Voz Andes was swamped yesterday afternoon.

So, our plane is still on the ground over an hour's flight away. It's raining, and we can't get a plane off the ground. We need to send a plane, pilot, and mechanic down to pick up the stranded plane. At the very least they'll take a prop to replace the one that hit the ground. We have two planes down for maintenance. The other plane will be needed to fly to Macas and pick up a lightning strike accident.

Pray for good weather. Pray for safety. Pray for good judgement.