This document is the official log of Capt. Andrew Farmer, internationally renowned pilot instructor, former military pilot, and freight dog.
Project Panama
After several years concentrating on NA to EU cargo flights and training, I contacted some old friends at LAN with the idea of getting back to Patagonia, or getting closer at any rate. Europe is lucrative–no doubt about that–but the charm can easily wear away and lately the traffic patterns have been too unforgiving. There’s no place to escape, it’s like the Eastern seaboard of the US, only without the funny accents. LAN always treated me well and I always liked their style. I thought about Aerolineas Argentinas, but my last stint didn’t end so well. It’s hard for me to stay uninvolved while the bureaucrats attempt to bulldoze everything in sight, and it looks like the good guys are losing that fight so I’ll need to stay clear of Buenos Aires for awhile. Chile, on the other hand, is very welcoming as a second home. I knew I’d have my pick of routes and they wouldn’t try to lowball me on the rates either.
Two months into my first set of rotations and MH370 happened. Given my extensive ties with MAS I simply knew too many people who were very closely involved, and they were all hurting. I had to contribute, and I was going to do it gratis–out of respect and somber admiration for everyone connected with this sad incident. Management at LAN were receptive to the idea of helping out, but besides both being part of Oneworld (which MAS joined only recently), the two don’t have much history, so it was hard to find a way to get involved through LAN. So I had to the military route which was a lot easier when it came time to convince both MAS and LAN (not to mention the Royal Aussie Navy) that we could get involved because I brought along an open checkbook from the US Navy.
Sadly, I got a call from Santiago saying they weren’t happy with the flight from routing, which to Perth would involve flying pretty much directly over the South Pole. Polar navigation itself wasn’t the issue, rather it was the fact that there were no en route diverts at the point of no return, and they didn’t want to waive ETOPS over such unforgiving territory. Simply put, or so they argued to me, nobody flies that way for a reason, so they weren’t going to risk their equipment (to say nothing of their personnel) in order for me to get to the action. I guess this is why you rarely see Australian tourists in Chile. Go figure.
Fly, Farmer, Fly! 