In June 1967 John Harverson took off in Telefomin in a Cessna 185 to fly two bible school students to their home village of Olsobip. Radio contact was lost and despite an extensive 10-day search over 8000 sqaure km, the plane was never found. Following a excerpt of a news paper article printed in The Canberra Times, 27 June 1967:
Overhead, 10 light aircraft and three helicopters continued their search, extending at times across the border into Indonesian controlled West Irian. A ground party of nearly 100 combed the valley floors.
Aboard the missing Cessna 185 are a Missionary Aviation Fellowship pilot, Mr John S. Harverson, 29, and two natives.
They left Telefomin on Friday morning for the 30 mile flight to the small, isolated Olsobip airstrip at the foot of the rugged Hindenburg Range.
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The general secretary of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, Mr Victor M. Ambrose, today described the country where the men are missing as, "extremely rugged with often shocking weather conditions".
"Olsobip is down among the foothills. It is a difficult place to get in and out of. He could have crashed into the side of a mountain", he said.
Mr Haverson, the son of a missionary doctor, was born in China. He went to school in New Zealand and came to Australia four years ago.
The search area comprises a 20-mile area of rough terrain at altitudes of from 9,000 to 11,000 feet. Murky weather has hampered searchers in the region which straddles the border between Papua and New Guinea.
Experienced pilots say the search area with its deep ravines and sharp peaks is made all the more treacherous by the suddenly changing cloud formations. Pilots familiar with the Victor Emmanuel Range area said they would be "amazed" if the pilot and his passengers were found alive.
In 1994 and 2005 MAF lost two other aircraft and 3 pilots in the general Telefomin area. I remember the last accident very well, as I had just started my pilot training at Prairie Bible Institute and Madeleine and I had to rethink our commitment to Mission Aviation. And now we are in the same area, fly to the same places.
For the (almost) 50-year anniversary, the Harverson family visited PNG and once again flew over the area, where their husband, father, and brother went missing. In memory of all the MAF pilots who lost their lives serving PNG's isolated places, a memorial was erected at Mt Hagen head quarters.
PORT MORESBY. Monday. — The beat of native drums reverberated along jungle-clad valleys in north west Papua today as one of the Territory's biggest ever searches continued for three men aboard a light aircraft missing since Friday.
Two natives expert in the use of the drums were flown into the Olsobip area, near Telefomin, by the helicopter in an attempt to ascertain whether tribesmen in the remote jungle district had news of the aircraft or its occupants.Overhead, 10 light aircraft and three helicopters continued their search, extending at times across the border into Indonesian controlled West Irian. A ground party of nearly 100 combed the valley floors.
Aboard the missing Cessna 185 are a Missionary Aviation Fellowship pilot, Mr John S. Harverson, 29, and two natives.
They left Telefomin on Friday morning for the 30 mile flight to the small, isolated Olsobip airstrip at the foot of the rugged Hindenburg Range.
...
The general secretary of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, Mr Victor M. Ambrose, today described the country where the men are missing as, "extremely rugged with often shocking weather conditions".
"Olsobip is down among the foothills. It is a difficult place to get in and out of. He could have crashed into the side of a mountain", he said.
Mr Haverson, the son of a missionary doctor, was born in China. He went to school in New Zealand and came to Australia four years ago.
The search area comprises a 20-mile area of rough terrain at altitudes of from 9,000 to 11,000 feet. Murky weather has hampered searchers in the region which straddles the border between Papua and New Guinea.
Experienced pilots say the search area with its deep ravines and sharp peaks is made all the more treacherous by the suddenly changing cloud formations. Pilots familiar with the Victor Emmanuel Range area said they would be "amazed" if the pilot and his passengers were found alive.
In 1994 and 2005 MAF lost two other aircraft and 3 pilots in the general Telefomin area. I remember the last accident very well, as I had just started my pilot training at Prairie Bible Institute and Madeleine and I had to rethink our commitment to Mission Aviation. And now we are in the same area, fly to the same places.
For the (almost) 50-year anniversary, the Harverson family visited PNG and once again flew over the area, where their husband, father, and brother went missing. In memory of all the MAF pilots who lost their lives serving PNG's isolated places, a memorial was erected at Mt Hagen head quarters.
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| Memorial at Mt Hagen HQ |
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| In honour of those who lost their lives while serving God |