It all started with two little boxes

Oct. 7, 2008

by Ian Fallis   Two small cardboard boxes hardly seem like a difficult load for a missionary pilot.   But for Dave Douglas it was.   That’s not through any fault on Dave’s part. It’s because of what was in the boxes.

Dave was preparing for a flight in Papua New Guinea, where New Tribes Mission’s first Kodiak will be put into service. Missionaries had asked Dave to bring out a cat and four kittens along with supplies he was bringing them.

So as Dave prepared for the flight the day before, he put the cat in one box and the kittens in another – taking care and doing his best to ensure that the cats would be fine.

Apparently it was still a bit stressful for the cat, who was pregnant when she went into the box and had delivered three kittens by the time Dave checked on them the next morning.

After again making sure all the cats were OK, Dave and his co-workers loaded them into the plane, and he took off.

Concentrating on his flying, Dave had no way of knowing what was going on with his cargo.

The mother cat ripped through the side of her box. Then she tore a hole in the box with the older kittens. She was in the process of transferring her kittens to that box when Dave landed and he and his co-pilot looked in on his cargo.

Now, in addition to helping unload the plane, Dave and his co-pilot had to catch the mother cat, who was busy protecting her kittens. When all eight cats were in the hands of their new owners, Dave and his co-pilot were able to breathe a sigh of relief – and take care of a few scratches.

Often, being a pilot of a small plane in unpredictable weather over rough terrain is like herding cats. And sometimes, it literally is.

While the Kodiak will not help with cats, the modern, turbine-engine aircraft will provide a welcome extra margin of safety for pilots and their passengers and cargo.