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As I type this, John Derick Eroro is on the radio informing their family in Kokoda and those like Russell in Port Moresby that their big brother is gone! I have goose bumps as I listen to this radio communication.
So many radio communications, so much joy about trekkers who have walked the track, now such tragic news!
Our thoughts also go out to all the families of everyone involved in this airline crash. Lets not forget Airlines of PNG and No Roads.
We are thinking of everyone as we mourn ourselves for someone close to Kokoda Trekking who also died in this crash.
The conversation on the radio sounds like half our KTL boys have made their way up the mountain to pay their respects and to support the brothers of Kingsley in their hour of need. Whether or not they will be allowed to do so remains to be seen, but they are planning to carry their brother off the mountain and back to the family block in Kokoda.
Although Kingsley only walks the Kokoda Track once or twice per year with private groups associated with friends of the people he has met and worked with at the Porgera Mine Site, he is the husband of Grace who runs the Kokoda Post Office and is the agent for Airlines of PNG in Kokoda. If you have flown with Airlines of PNG you will no doubt have met Grace or one of their sons. Kingsley also helps the family out on his tour breaks and was often seen at Kokoda airport.
PRESS RELEASES FROM AIRLINES PNG:
PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA Monday 17th August 2009 1:00pm
Airlines PNG can now advise that the transfer of bodies of the 11 passengers and 2 crew members from the accident site was completed yesterday. We can confirm that there were 13 people on board the aircraft (11 passengers and 2 crew) despite previous false media reports of other victims. The High Commission and the PNG Civil Aviation Authority late yesterday also supported this. Of the 11 passengers and 2 crew the nationalities of the people on board are: Two pilots were of Papua New Guinean decent and the passengers were made up of 9 Australians, 1 Papua New Guinean and 1 Japanese citizen.
There have also been reports that Kingsley Eroro (one of the victims) was not manifested. We can confirm that he was most definitely the only PNG National passenger on the flight. The airline is working with the Papua New Guinean families to arrange traditional ‘haus kreis’ and to then assist in managing funeral arrangements for the deceased crew and one Papua New Guinean passenger.
The airline is also working with authorities to assist in ensuring the rapid repatriation of the nine Australian passengers and the Japanese passenger to their respective countries. Airlines PNG will also provide all other assistance to the victim’s families wherever possible. It is understood that the Papua New Guinean Government has asked the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to assist Papua New Guinea in the investigation of this accident.
Four ATSB investigators arrived in Port Moresby at approximately 7:00pm on Wednesday night. Airlines PNG will be working closely with all authorities to ensure that all lessons learned from this tragic event are implemented. Due to the nature of the investigative process, the ability of Airlines PNG to publicly comment further will be significantly constrained, until the full findings of the investigation are released. Wherever possible however, Airlines PNG will continue to work with the media and the public to ensure as much information as possible is provided.
***END OF RELEASE***
AIRLINES PNG FACT SHEET AS AT 1:00pm 17/08/2009 – #1 Issued: Monday 17th August 2009
ORDER OF EVENTS Tuesday 11th August 2009 Airlines PNG flight CG 4684 – with 11 passengers and 2 crew members on board departed Port Moresby Airport at 10:53a.m bound for Kokoda airstrip on Tuesday 11th August 2009. When it failed to arrive at its scheduled arrival time of 11:20a.m, Airlines PNG’s Kokoda agent contacted the airline’s Operations Centre to advise of its non-arrival. The Operations Centre made immediate contact with Port Moresby Flight Service and were advised that the last radio contact with the aircraft had been at 11:11a.m. The airfield at Kokoda is at an elevation of 1,269ft AMSL (above mean sea level) located in Papua New Guinea’s Owen Stanley Ranges. Four Twin Otter flights were known to be scheduled during the morning.
The first flight – a Twin Otter aircraft operated by another PNG airline – attempted to land at Kokoda at approximately 9:00 am and returned to Port Moresby due to adverse weather in the Kokoda area. This is a common occurrence as the weather in this area can deteriorate rapidly and conversely can improve quite rapidly. That aircraft did in fact return to Kokoda and land safely later that morning.
A second Twin Otter operated by Airlines PNG landed at Kokoda at 09:48a.m. The weather conditions at the time were reported by the Captain to be “good visibility below a broken cloud layer between 9,000ft AMSL and 7,000ft AMSL”, while to the south-west the ranges were still covered in cloud. This aircraft then took off to return to Port Moresby at 10:00a.m.
The Twin Otter from the other PNG airline departed Kokoda at 11:10a.m. approximately at the time the missing aircraft was descending to Kokoda. The weather was reported to be average with areas of reduced visibility but in excess of legal requirements.
The fourth flight from an airstrip called Efogi to Kokoda landed at 11:35a.m. and again the weather was reported by the Captain to be “good visibility below a cloud layer between 9,000ft AMSL and 7,000ft AMSL” with the ranges to the south-west still covered in cloud. Visibility then reduced whilst this aircraft was on the ground, as several rain showers moved up the valley. This aircraft later took off from Kokoda to assist in search efforts.
Airlines PNG activated its Emergency Response Plan and Emergency Centre at 1140 and advised Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that one of its Twin Otter aircraft with 13 people on board had gone missing en route from Port Moresby to Kokoda in the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges and that an extensive search and rescue mission was under way. Two of the airline’s other aircraft as well as two helicopters were immediately contacted to commence sweeps of the search area.
The Australian Search and Rescue, which monitors signals from the aircraft’s emergency locator beacon was contacted and advised that no signal had been received.
PNG’s Civil Aviation Authority, the Australian High Commission and Japanese Embassy were notified of the event at 1:17pm. The airline confirmed that of the eleven passengers on board, one was Papua New Guinean, one Japanese and nine were Australian members of a Kokoda trekking group. The two person crew on the aircraft were both Papua New Guineans.
Victorian tour operator No Roads Expeditions was notified and in turn confirmed that it had advised the families of its Australian clients on board. Australian consular officials from Port Moresby were also in contact with the families to offer consular assistance.
Airlines PNG advised that –
- The missing Twin Otter aircraft had earlier this year undergone a complete refurbishment programme and was fitted with the latest navigation aids and terrain awareness equipment.
- The flight crew were highly experienced with flying in Papua New Guinea’s challenging conditions and very familiar with the particular route flown.
- Earlier in the day, an Airlines PNG flight had operated into Kokoda under normal weather conditions but conditions in the mountainous terrain can be subject to sudden changes.
- Further assistance was being provided in the search area by both PNG and Australian authorities and mining companies in PNG were also providing resources to assist.
Wednesday 12 August 2009 Search efforts continued at first light and the airline confirmed that at approximately 8:40am the missing aircraft was located at an altitude of 5,500ft in the Kokoda area. Visual inspections from a helicopter showed no immediate signs of activity. A PNG Police response team landed a short distance from the crash site, but deteriorating weather and limited communications hampered further information from that team.
Three helicopters, including a Royal Australian Navy Sea King operated in the area to drop further personnel near to the crash site to assist in the rescue. An RAAF Caribou was positioned at Kokoda Airstrip while an Australian Command and Control Dornier aircraft held position above the area to coordinate activities
Airlines PNG advised that the ground party had confirmed there were no survivors and that the airline had contacted the families of the crew and the Papua New Guinea passenger and was providing appropriate assistance.
Australian and Japanese consular officials in Port Moresby confirmed they would contact victims’ next of kin and to provide assistance to the passengers’ families. The airline began liaison with the Papua New Guinean, Australian and Japanese authorities to assist families too and offered its condolences to the families along with flights and accommodation.
Extensive resources continued to be provided by the Papua New Guinea Government, the Australian Government and Airlines PNG as the task of recovery of the bodies from the crash site and their return to their families began.
Deteriorating weather conditions caused the suspension of recovery action overnight.
Thursday 13 August 2009 Recovery efforts continued throughout the day under extremely difficult weather conditions in the rugged terrain but were again suspended overnight.
During the day, further details were released concerning the airline and its crew members operating Airlines PNG Flight CG 4684 and their high level of experience in flying the aircraft in the rugged terrain due to media reports making false claims.
Friday 14th August 2009: Recovery efforts continued again at first light. During the day Airlines PNG re-confirmed the number of victims on board the ill-fated aircraft as (13) after media reports emerged suggesting that there were in excess of this. With the approval of Kingsley Eroro’s family, Airlines PNG confirmed that he was indeed the PNG passenger on the flight. The confusion of total number of victims is believed to be due to only a duplicate booking in the reservations system and one no- show booking.
Saturday 15th August 2009 Remains continued to be recovered and brought to Port Moresby. Airlines PNG confirmed that it was working with investigation teams to ensure that all lessons from the accident were learnt.
Due to the nature of the investigative process, Airlines PNG said that the ability to publicly comment further will be significantly constrained, until the full findings of the investigation are released. Wherever possible however, Airlines PNG will continue to work with the media and the public to ensure as much information as possible is provided.
Sunday 16th August 2009: The last remains were transferred to Port Moresby and Airlines PNG continued to work with authorities as part of the investigation.
MEDIA QUERY CHECKLIST:
Pilot Training & Experience Captain Jannie Moala who was pilot in command of the ill-fated aircraft completed her pilot training in New Zealand, prior to her flying career in Papua New Guinea. She commenced flying Twin Otter aircraft with Airlines PNG in 2005 and had since accumulated over 2,500 hours flying experience on that aircraft type. Captain Moala had flown the Port Moresby to Kokoda route on numerous occasions. The second crew member on the flight was First Officer Royden Sauka who had completed his pilot training in Australia and also started flying Twin Otter aircraft in 2005 with Airlines PNG. He too had in excess of 2,000 hours experience flying that same aircraft type. FO Sauka was also very familiar with the Port Moresby to Kokoda route, having flown it on many occasions. Airlines PNG’s pilots are some of the most experienced in the world in flying this type of aircraft and in this type of environment. Many of them have decades of experience and undergo the most rigorous check and training regime and are fully licensed by the relevant regulatory authority.
Black Box – Should There Have Been One? The aircraft was not equipped with a black box. This equipment is not required on Twin Otter aircraft under the PNG Regulations nor is it even available to Twin Otter aircraft anywhere in the world. Airlines PNG did however on its own initiative and in excess of the requirements of the aviation safety rules equip the aircraft with dual GPS Systems and a Terrain Awareness System as well as a Radio Altimeter.
Kingsley Eroro – Was He On The Flight? There have also been reports that Kingsley Eroro (one of the victims) was not manifested. We can confirm that he most definitely was and that a duplicate booking in the reservations system may have lead to this misinformation of an additional passenger on the flight. With the approval of his family we can also confirm that Kingsley Eroro was a victim on the ill-fated flight.
Airlines PNG Suspension Of Kokoda Flights Airlines PNG under its own initiative has suspended all of its flights into Kokoda until it is satisfied with its own internal investigations and as the airline believes that considering the circumstances it is right thing to do. All other services offered by Airlines PNG are still operating as usual. Please note that Airlines PNG was not forced to suspend the Kokoda air service. The airline chose to.
Any further media queries please refer them to Airlines PNG Media Relations: Danae Jones International mobile: +61 409 346 599 Australian mobile: 0409 346 599
Photograph:Left to Right – his cousin Donald; John Derick (brother); Kingsley and his son Emmanuel (Mike Ebeling photograph). Message from Colac: We took this photo just south of Mission Ridge in 2006 for John and his brother, Kingsley. That was a happy day.
Kingsley__Donald__John__Emmanuel.jpgThe following members of the Eroro family who some of you may know as they may have been your guide or personal porter
- Kingsley's sons: Emmanuel & Oliver Eroro
- John Derick Eroro (Senior Guide)
- Davidson Eroro (Guide)
- Duggie (David) Eroro (Porter)
- Johnsford Eroro (Guide)
- Kingsley (Kinni) Eroro – his namesake – (Porter)
- Ross Eroro (ex Guide for Kokoda Trekking but more recently – PNG Trekking)
Nephews:
- Paulo Talanoa
- Christopher Talanoa
Last but not least, Russell Eroro his loving brother and the owner of Kokoda Trekking Ltd in Papua New Guinea and my right arm. Russell does not say much at the best of times, but right now is shell shocked by the sad news of yesterday and today. All the family looked to Kingsley for guidance and to hold the family together, now he is gone and his shoes will be hard to fill.
Russell already is saying thanks for all the well wishes the family have been receiving today. On TV earlier today I saw that there were heaps of local people at the airport. A huge number of these were there in support of the 'Eroro Family' as fellow porters and guides of all different trekking companies went their to support them as they waited patiently at the airport for any news of their beloved brother Kingsley. Jack of No Roads was also by their side.
The next trek that is leaving on the 19th August had many of these names listed above as guide and porters. Sadly now, this will not be the case and we will have to select new staff for this trek.
If any of you would like to post a card to the 'Eroro' family, please use our address:
Eroro Family,
Kokoda Trekking Ltd
PO Box 7541
BOROKO.
Papua New GuineaI will announce on our website when the funeral will be held in due course as and when known. At this stage I would imagine his body along with everyone else on the flight will be flown to Port Moresby so I would not think this will happen for a few days.
Photograph: This photograph was taken not long after I commenced the trekking business with Russell Eroro. It was one of our very first treks. John Derick is on the left with Johnsford next to him. Davidson is 4th from the left top row. Russell is on the far right. Bottom row on the right is Justus Evari who we are led to belive is presently walking up to the crash site with the rescue team of police and army. Justus is married to one of the sisters in the Eroro family. Emmanuel & Peggy Eroro are parents to 10 children plus several others they adopted making a close family of 14. Most of the family live in Kokoda in what is commonly referred to as KBK, Kokoda Block.
Update 14th August: Grace Eroro and her family are now in Port Moresby being comforted by relatives and friends of the family. Kingsley's body arrived from the crash site today and was taken to the funeral home.
Group_Pic.jpgNew Ticket: Plane crash
Dear Gail, I was in the 366 "Trek for Tom" group.
Lisa Distant just informed me that Russell and John's brother Kingsley, was on board the plane that went down.
Please can you pass on my heart felt sorrow to you, Russell, John and the family.
You guys are always the main thing we still talk about when any of us together.
If there is anything you wish us to do please do not hesitate to ask.
God Bless
Hertzen
Trek_for_Tom.jpgOur thoughts are with those involved especially Russell's brother.
Take care
Aaron Little
Trek 531
IMGP0459.jpgI am sure like all the "Kokoda Trekking" family we are deeply saddened to hear of your loss Grace also that of Russell and the enitre Eroro family along with Kingsley's many friends.
Our Love, Prayers and Condolences goes out to each of you.
May God be with you and comfort you all at this time.
Love You
Brian and Maureen Beamish
Brian_Beamish.jpgGrace, Russell, John Derick & Eroro family, I am terribly saddened to hear of your loss. Thinking of you all in this difficult time. Cheree
trekon_resized.jpgWe would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of all of those killed in this terrible accident. Like all the people who have trekked Kokoda , I believe there is a wider sense of family and comaraderie shared by all who come to such a beautiful place to walk the track. When a tragedy such as this happens we all project our inner feelings of hurt and loss and reflect upon the sudden loss of so many lives. Each person well loved. Each person so special.We do hold such a transient grip on life and an event such as this reminds us to value each day and love and cherish all those who are dear to us.
Our sincere sympathies to the KTL staff and to the Eroro familyPete and Mary Dowling
To Johnsford and Paulo.
We were very saddened to hear of your loss, you guys are in our thoughts and prayers.
Peter, Rhonda and Anne.
Trek 521.
IMGP0223.jpgDear Gail,
On behalf of Alexander, Alistair and myself, please pass on our condolences to the Eroro family. Ross was our porter in October 2006, and we stayed for a few days at Rustys before Ross and John Derek travelled with us on the PMV to Popendetta. I also went to church with their father Emmanuel walking all the way. What wonderful conversations we had to pass the time. I remember them being the most loving, hospitable family, welcoming us into their lives. It is a terrible tragedy. We have heard nothing about the PNG families here in Australia which is upsetting but I knew that you would be on the ball. Thank you for this.
Libby, Alex and Alistair JackDear Gail and all at Kokoda trekking,
We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the plane crash that has taken the lives of fellow Aussies, P.N.G nationals and our dear friend Kingsley Eroro.
Our hearts go out to every family member and friend who has lost a loved one.
To Grace and her children, Russell,John and all of the Eroro family please pass on our love and thoughts to them all.Please tell Grace that if there is anything we can do to not hesitate to ask, I will try to contact her in the coming days but for now all I can say is how very sorry we all are.
Devastated by the news.
lots of love
Tracy,Frank, Jane and Families xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tracy.jpgNew Ticket: Kingsley
Jackson and I are both totally devastated to hear this news!!!
I have met very few finer men in my short life, this man was a true gentleman.
Our thoughts go out to Grace and the girls, Kingsley has left a great legacy for all family men to follow.
Please pass this on our thoughts and love to all family in Kokoda.
Love and thoughts always
Allan and Jackson
Photograph: Allan, Jackson seen here with Russell Eroro
Allan___Jackson.jpgDear Gail
On behalf of all of your friends at Lord Somers Camp and Power House, we extend our condolences to Grace, Russell, John Derick, Paulo and all of the Eroro family on the tragic loss of Kingsley.
John Prossor
John_Prossor.jpgTo Dear Gail, Russell, Grace, John and the Eroro family, all at Kokoda Trekking and to all the Kokoda Trekking fraternity
Please pass on our sincerest condolences to Russell, Grace, John and the Eroro family on the tragic loss of Kingsley.
We also offer our heartfelt condolences to family members of all those lost under these tragic circumstances.
I think all those who have visited Kokoda and walked the Track, retain a place in their heart and soul for the Kokoda Track, the Orokaiva people, the members of the trekking company and in this case the KTL, who helped every trekker make their occasion such a memorable one, also retain some emotional link with the place and everything to do with it and whilst most former trekkers aren't directly connected with anyone, they never the less experience such a pain for those family members who have lost their loved ones.
Please pass on our thoughts, love and best wishes primarily to Russell, Grace and John and all the Eroro family and also to any family members who you may be in touch with.
We are saddened and devasted by the news, as I'm sure are all Papuan New Guineans and Australians that have heard or are effected by the tragic accident.
Special thoughts and prayers go also to you Gail, as I'm sure you are bearing the weight of the loss very personally yourself.
Love, Best Wishes & Fond Regards always Gail
Warren, Phillip & Patrick Turner
Trek 83
Wazza.jpgDear Russ and the Eroro Family,
Today news has been very upsetting for all of us here in Australia, we are all keeping your family and Kingsley in our Prayers and thinking of you during this very hard time.
After having spent so much time with your family and others from the Kokoda village on visits to Australia over the years today's devastating news has really touched home.
Briyana got her kindy class to say a prayer for "you" "Kingsley" and your family today.
I look forward to the news that Kingsley has been laid rest in "Kokoda" in the coming days.
Love
James, Mikayla, Elexis, Bri Bri, Enaya
Russell___Eric_with_grandkids.jpegDear Russell and the Eroro Family,
On behalf of the 40 Australian Army Cadets and staff from our two treks over 2 years, I would like to pass on our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Kingsley.
We all remember the porters guides and family with their warmth and generosity.
yours sincerely
Laurie Hawthorne
CAPTAIN (AAC)
Commander of 2007 and 2008 Treks
Australian Army Cadet NSW Contingents
army_cadets_resized.jpg
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