GSAAA Update #8 Somewhere in MexicoFebruary 6, 1996

NOTE: Paul and Kevin started their most recent communication by saying they

were alive, uninjured, they think the plane is air worthy, and they are

no longer in custody. I am sure they want everyone to read this

narrative knowing that, ultimately, it turned out OK.

January 30, 1996

Took off from Guayaquil in scattered rain and low clouds. The flight was a

long series of zig-zag flights to Esmereldas, Ecuador. Suffered carburetor

icing for the whole flight, so the engine sounds were less than reassuring.

Suffered the night in Esmereldas. All the streets in town were deep in mud

and nearly impassable from recent heavy rains.

January 31, 1996

The weather held the pilots to 500' to 800' over the Pacific, in and out of

rain on the flight to Buenventura, Columbia. It took so long to arrange for

and obtain fuel that it was necessary to spend the night at Buenventura.

February 1, 1996

Took off and stayed low through scattered rain showers over the Pacific. A

strong tailwind helped the plane all the way to Panama. The pilots had to

stay near the shore and dodge pelicans since carburetor icing again made the

engine cough and stumble three times during the flight.

February 2, 1996

Stayed in Panama City and the weather seemed to be clearing, but the next

morning the take off was once again through scattered rain and low ceilings.

Flew about 150 miles out over the water (Caribbean) to take the shortest route

to Limon, Costa Rica. After almost an entire week of difficult flying

conditions at least the pilots were back in Latin America where the insurance

on the plane was back in effect. Refueled in Limon and continued on to

Managua, Nicaragua. About 30 miles from the Managua airfield, the controllers

refused to give landing permission and ordered Paul and Kevin to return to

Limon. After a lengthy conversation which hinged on the plane having

inadequate fuel for the return trip, permission for a technical landing was

granted. In theory, the technical landing requires the plane to refuel

expeditiously and take off as soon as possible. I think Paul and Kevin had

the advantage here, they knew that there was no fuel available at the airfield

(they had filled the gas cans at Limon for this very situation) and since they

could not fly VFR at night, Managua was forced to allow an overnight stay.

Essentially, Paul and Kevin got exactly what they wanted, incurred no fines,

and straightened everything out the next morning so they could continue to El

Salvador.

February 3, 1996

Took off for San Salvador, El Salvador. Following the coast at 4,500', Kevin

and Paul sighted two separate groups of whales. Landed at Ilopanga and picked

up the bag of winter clothes jettisoned on the trip south. In Ilopanga, Paul

and Kevin met a man who mentioned the Blue Brothers 1956 Tripacer trip to

South America and told them about meeting the Blue Brothers in Vera Cruz.

Pushed on to Tapachula, Mexico. A safe landing put the pilots about 2 days

ahead of schedule.

February 4, 1996

The task for today's flight is to get over the mountains to Vera Cruz. As

Paul and Kevin started through at two different spots, clouds boiled up in

unstable weather conditions each time, forcing them to turn back. Weather

conditions forced the pilots to go around the mountains and traverse the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec (the same path was forced on the pilots during the trip

south).

As they approach the passage the weather turns a lot more violent. The flying

conditions are even worse than crossing the Andes (a lifetime ago). Even with

the seatbelts on, the plane is thrown around enough that the pilots are

hitting their heads on the ceiling; the plane is buffeted in several

directions and the pilots are fighting to keep the wings from being torn off

the plane. Decreased altitude from 10,000' to 2,000' in an attempt to get out

of severe updrafts. As the pilots get to the East coast with the nose pointed

inland and at full throttle, the plane is being pushed out to sea. After

several turns and altitude changes to try and avoid the winds, it takes 30

minutes of fighting the controls to travel 5 miles down the coast and 1 mile

inland. The fuel is running very low and winds are at 60 to 80 knots. Paul

and Kevin decide to attempt a landing at a military base about 20 miles away.

It takes nearly an hour and all the remaining fuel to get there in a crabbing,

sideways motion. The winds remain extremely violent. The pilots approached

the airfield indicating over 100 mph with a ground speed indication of 20.

The plane is constantly kicked about, every way but level. At 50', a wind

shear puts the plane on a knife edge and the right wing nearly hits the

ground. The pilots brought the plane level, fight left and right into

constantly shifting winds and set down with almost no forward motion.

Paul said both he and Kevin were exhausted and thrilled to be on the ground in

one piece. But, they didn't have a chance to get too comfortable, the wind

started to blow the plane backwards even with a 50 mph indicated air speed.

The winds were still dangerous even on the ground and as the pilots inched

forward and held the brakes to stop, they decided Kevin would get out and try

to walk the plane holding the wing. Too late. A gust of wind caught the left

wing and lifts it into the air as the tail rises. The prop bites into the

asphalt runway, the engine is cut and the plane sits on the nose and the right

wing tip. Kevin unstraps himself, opens the door and promptly falls out onto

the runway, losing his passport to the wind in the process. By grabbing the

tail skid, Kevin is able to keep the plane from flipping over. Paul can now

get out and help to hold the plane down in the gusting winds. Kevin luckily

retrieves his passport while Paul holds onto the bucking plane. Naturally, in

this kind of weather, no help is in sight at the air base. Paul checked out

some buildings about 50 yards away in an attempt to get someone's attention

and help. He did get some attention, but not exactly what he wanted. The

startled soldiers grabbed their weapons, motioned Paul back at gunpoint and

apparently didn't understand his plea for help with the plane. As Paul

returns to the plane to help Kevin hold it down, about a dozen soldiers

surround the plane with weapons at the ready positions. Some pretty tense

moments passed with Paul and Kevin sometimes pulled off the ground as they

tried desperately to hang on to the wing struts and keep the plane on its

wheels. Apparently after about 10 minutes, someone made a decision to let the

soldiers help hold down the plane and to move it near the hangar area out of

the wind. The wind noise was loud enough so that communication was almost

impossible even when faces were inches apart. Paul said it was almost no

comfort to note that the weapon trained on him, less than an arm's length

away, was set on semi-automatic rather than full-automatic. For the next 24

hours, Paul and Kevin were placed in some sort of custody; an armed guard was

always within a few feet and was even in the room while the pilots were

sleeping. I don't imagine the Mexican soldiers had any idea of what to do

with their friendly captives.

February 5, 1996

Finally, General Castro (no relation?) contacted the Defense Department and

sorted out the situation. A mechanic looked at the plane, the pilots paid for

damage to the runway, and a small tear in the right wing was repaired. The

prop tips are curled back about 2 inches, the stress risers were dressed, but

the decision is made not to bend the prop tips back due to the potential for

breakage. Did an engine run to check for vibration and clearance for the

front tire. Everything seemed OK.

The rest of the fax was incomplete, but was sent from the Don Miguel Hotel in

Tapachula. The few readable words from the 6th indicate that Paul and Kevin

still encountered rough weather conditions over the mountains and the winds

blew out the pilot side window.

A Message from Paul

We ended up back in Tapachula after getting released from the Mexican

authorities and 2 unsuccessful attempts to make it over the mountains. Out

last remaining ace was to try to go southeast around the mountains and over

the guerilla war areas of Chiapas. We took off at dawn and had the partial

cover of low haze to help hide the plane, but took over 2 hours to get to

7,000' with the bent prop and no more. Went almost to Guatemala City with no

passes to the North to go through the mountains. Had to turn back to

Tapachula and land due to low fuel. We simply cannot get over the mountains

until we get a new prop. With this revelation we unloaded the plane, secured

it and 2 hours later were on a commercial flight to Mexico City, Dallas and

arrived Omaha at midnight February 7, 1996 and back to work Thursday morning.

We still have 3 days of vacation left and a permit to leave the plane in

Mexico for 45 days. In that time we hope to be able to raise enough money to

return with a new prop, make the necessary repairs and return with the plane

over a long 5 day weekend. We would like to offer our thanks to all the

people and companies that have helped make this trip possible. If your

schedule allows, we ask anyone who got these updates to give comments back

good or bad so the next adventure can be better shared. An interesting aside,

in Ilapango, El Salvador, we met a pilot named Roberto S. Sol who in 1956 was

stranded by weather in Veracruz, Mexico. Because of this he met the Blue

Brothers who were traveling south in a new Tripacer they had named "Blue Bird"

and a journey similar to the Great South American Air Adventure. Almost 40

years later he met a similar pair.