In Nov 2014, PNG (Papua New Guinea) became the latest entrants to ODIs as they played two official International matches against Hongkong – a grand entry, winning both of them. Hong Kong buckled under pressure as Papua New Guinea successfully chased down 261 to win the second ODI cricket match in Townsville, Australia. Earlier Papua New Guinea, beat Hong Kong by three wickets in their first ever ODI. The frequent traveller may not be perturbed and many not listen – airhostess would stand and start miming to the announcement – ‘please listen to the safety instructions’ – in case of air pressure, oxygen masks would descend.Life jacket is placed below - “in the event of an emergency, inflate your lifejacket’ – and would reel further to say that in the unlikely event of a landing in water (sea !) .. .. .. do you feel scary or ever thought of whether it is useful safety instruction, whether one could remember them on emergency and whether plane could actually land on sea ?
Air Niugini Limited is the
national airline of Papua New Guinea, based inPort Moresby .It operates a domestic network from Port
Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania, and
Australia.
Micronesia is a subregion
of Oceania, composed of thousands of smaller islands in the western Pacific
Ocean. It has a shared cultural history with two other island regions,
Polynesia to the east and Melanesia to the south. Micronesia is divided politically among
several sovereign countries. The Micronesia region encompasses five sovereign,
independent nations—the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, and Nauru—as well as three U.S. territories in the northern
part: Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Wake Island.
You are reading about all
these as one ‘Air Niugini plane’ overshot runway in Micronesia and sank in sea
lagoon.Reports state that a Papua New Guinean plane has sunk in a lagoon
after overshooting the runway in the Federated States of Micronesia.However, all passengers were reportedly rescued safely from
Air Niugini’s partially submerged Boeing 737-800. Flight 73 flies between
Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia and Port Moresby, stopping in
Chuuk State. One witness said the plane was coming in to land.
Videos posted to social
media show dozens of people in boats around the wreckage. Local media said the
36 passengers and 11 crew members were safe. The Air Niugini plane which landed in the ocean is stated to be Flight
PX073 which is scheduled to fly Pohnpei - Chuuk - Port Moresby. Photos show
small boats effecting rescue.An eyewitness
is stated as saying that he heard and saw the plane coming down and thought it
to be normal landing but realized that the plane had overshot, went to sea and
started sinking.
BBC adds that the plane crashed and in around five minutes the
rescuers were there, they were ordinary people, because there are plenty of
boats around the shore. The officials were about 10 minutes. Another employee
said the runway was known to be very short.The good news is there was no human casualties – all 36 passengers and 11 crew were rescued from
the plane before it sunk in the lagoon. They were taken to hospital, where
eight remained, four in a serious condition with bone fractures and other
injuries, according to a hospital spokesman.
Next time on board a
plane, listen to the safety instructions more carefully !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
28th Sept. 2018
