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Short Strips

Some bad news was just confirmed today. The pilots got a message late last week that airs shorter than 500 meters would be considered unusable. But the news was vague, and we didn't know when that would go into effect, or how long the affected communities had so lengthen their airs. Today one of our pilots in Sucua, Darryl, received word that effective immediately airs shorter than 500 meters could not be used. This is not good news, as we land at many s that are under 500 meters, and even some that are under 400 meters. Yes, they are dangerous s, but our planes are STOL (short takeoff and landing) equipped and our pilots are thoroughly trained for these kinds of airs. To me this is frustrating, and I think probably political in nature. The people hurt by this? The indians who will suffer next time there is a medical emergency and we can't fly in with our planes to take them out.