OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) — EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh is the world’s largest fly-in convention. In fact, some of the most remote areas of the world are represented at AirVenture.
In some areas in Papua New Guinea, it would take you days to reach the nearest hospital. In a medical emergency, that’s where Samaritan Aviation comes in. You can find them in the Seaplane base at EAA AirVenture. CEO and Founder Mark Palm started the organization in 2000, which has three seaplanes to give free rides to the hospital.
“If you’re struggling to deliver a baby, or you get sick, or there’s a trauma, or you get bit by a snake and you only have eight hours to live. We’re really the only hope that these people have to get to the that one hospital,” said Palm. “So we are able to change that three-day trip into a one-hour flight, and we’ve saved thousands of lives.”
One example is a pregnant mother who was unconscious, and had been in labor with her baby boy for three days when Palm got the call.
“That young man now is 16 years old. They actually named him Mark after me, which was a huge honor. I still go in and see Mark occasionally and see Antonia, who is his mom, our first mother that we saved.”
But you don’t get on this plane the way you might imagine. To get into the airplane, you take a canoe right up to the aircraft where the team will assist you inside the plane. Palm showed us how it’s done:
The Cessna 206 seaplane lands in the water, and takes off in the water.
Palm says it’s not uncommon for people to get a little nervous on the plane.
“If you can imagine, you’ve been in the village your whole life, a lot of the people have never seen running water, electricity, never seen a vehicle, or never seen the ocean. Then this airplane lands in their village and says ‘get in!’ and now they’re getting the first flight of their life.”
See WTAQ’s Rachel Charniak’s point of view and reactions while taking a ride in the plane; which can reach up to 125 miles per hour.
Palm showed us all the levers, buttons, and screens that make the plane fly.
Not only does Samaritan Aviation provide life-saving flights, but they also fly medicines and other medical supplies to 40 different aid posts.
“The more we can supply them, the less they need us,” said Palm. “If they have a sickness or infection, then they call us because it’s turned deadly.”
While Palm says they are looking for pilots, mechanics, donors, and more, he says you can make a difference anywhere.
“You don’t have to go to [Papua] New Guinea to change the world. You can start with your own community. I encourage people to look around, and you’ll find so many needs. But you can change the world right where you’re at.”
See more videos and photos of the Samaritan Aviation plane below.
EAA AirVenture runs through Sunday.
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