9th December, 1991
The hurricane was definitely not over: the winds had simply swung 180 degrees, returning with more force than ever. The lull had simply been the fringe of the eye. The fronds of the coconut trees, having billowed westwards like fields of windsocks for three days, snapped backwards and broke in the West Wind. In a desperate hurry to reach the hangar, we raced on passed the administration buildings transformed into a scrapyard. Sheets of roofing iron decorated the lawn like modern sculpture.
We approached the hangar from the rear, eyes straining through the rain in search of reassurance. The hangar roof had been ripped off. As we rounded the corner, a horrifying scene greeted us: the massive sliding doors were wide open. Four had been flung to the ground. The remaining two leaned, cock-eyed, on the girders that supported them. Wind and rain blasted through. Romeo was tucked behind the Twin Otter, which was dancing diagonally across the hangar.
“Hell! The roof of the fuselage is smashed in,” I clutched Gérard’s arm as he pulled up alongside the hanger.
“No, you’re wrong! It’s just the outside cover that’s ripped. Romeo’s fine!”
From Freedom of the Skies
Glimpses of the journey:
- Around the world
- Crossing the Atlantic
- Saint Louis, Senegal
- Bubaque, Guiné-Bissau
- Timbuktu, Mali
- Cottars’ Camp, Kenya
- Virungas National Park, Zaire
- Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
- Sossusvlei, Namíbia
- Lumbo, Mozambique
- Antananarivo Madagascar
- Adis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Misfat, Omã
- Jaipur, India
- Himalaia, Nepal
- Mae Hong Son, Thailand
- Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Borobodur, Java, Indonesia
- Baliem Valley, Irian Jaya
- Gimbat, Australia
- Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands
- Hurricane in Apia, Western Samoa
- Anaa, Tuamotu, Polynesia
- Easter Island, Chile
- Crossing the Andes, Chile-Argentina
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
