Pacific Mission Aviation eyes Guam expansion

Pacific Mission Aviation (Guam Int’l) – an aviation ministry that serves remote islands in the Pacific – plans to expand its operations on Guam and to neighbouring islands. The operator has received two Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 200s donated by Samaritan’s Purse to help carry out its missions in Micronesia. Samaritan’s Purse (NSP, Boone), an international, non-denominational Christian disaster relief organisation, had outfitted the aircraft with extra cargo-carrying capabilities. The donation included the training of three PMA pilots and three mechanics, upgrading the avionics on both aircraft, and exchanging components that were nearing their life limits such as one engine and two propellers. PMA is currently looking for FAA commercial licensed pilots and Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic to join its mission in the Pacific, according to information on its website. PMA President and Chief Executive Officer Norbert Kalau said the pandemic had increased demand for flight services. So the carrier urgently needed better and faster equipment to extend its reach to adjoining islands in the region. The company said incoming flights to Yap, Palau, and Pohnpei had been restricted because of COVID-19, impacting its mission. PMA has four aircraft registered with the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): one Cessna (single piston) TU206G, two Beechcraft Queen Air 65-B80s, and one BN-2 Islander. Headquartered in Guam with bases on Yap, Koror on Palau, and Manila Ninoy Aquino Int’l, PMA for the past 40 years has been providing medical evacuations, medicine drops, sea searches, and disaster relief to isolated islands in the region. Kalau said the operator this year also aimed to acquire a dedicated storage facility to stock supplies, reported local media. This includes container loads of school textbooks donated recently by the Guan Department of Education, which the aviation ministry distributed to island communities in the Federated States of Micronesia, such as Pohnpei and Chuuk Lagoon, previously known as Truk. He said the carrier also helped distribute medical supplies from Guam Int’l to state hospitals on Pohnpei, and transported medical personnel on humanitarian missions.