On a recent trip to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for MAF, I watched the freaked-out reaction of several first-time fliers.
19-year-old Galcy sat next to her brother, holding tightly to his arm, scrunching up her face and pleading, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" at every small bump of turbulence. Her brother, Hilton, whispered to me behind her back, "It's her first time. I've flown before." It was his second time on a plane. She had never left her village of Wobagen.
Galcy grips her bother's arm through the short flight from her village of Wobagen to Tabubil.
At the remote village of Tekin, the MAF Twin Otter loaded up a full plane of passengers, 19 plus me. Pilot Brad Venter helped buckle in a first-time flier. Behind her sat another.
With wide terrified eyes, this girl gripped the front of her seat through the flight.
These two girls were also flying for the first time. They managed to look out the window at the scenery below, something the other first-timers couldn't bring themselves to do.
This poor girl started crying at one point as she doubled over gripping the hand of the person across from her.
The hand-grip.
And the youngest of the new fliers. This little boy gripped his mum's arm like this through the entire flight. Never once let go.
Great shots, LuAnne!
Reminds me of how freaked out I was as a pilot the first time I had to take passengers! 🙂
Dear LuAnne,
I love this! Great series. Great captures. Love your photos as always. Keep it up.
Blessings to you and I miss you. When are you coming back to Nepal?