AR – Venezuela Search Continues

BY LIBNA STEVENS, news coordinator, Inter-America Division [ See Original Story ]

Pilot Robert Norton with his wife Neiba lead out the Adventist Medical Aviation based in Gran Sabana, Venezuela. [photo: courtesy of AMA]

Adventist search teams continue looking for a medical missionary plane which went missing on Monday February 16 in the jungles of La Gran Sabana in southeastern Venezuela.

The Cessna 182N plane, piloted by Robert Norton, who volunteers for the Adventist Medical Aviation (AMA) in Venezuela, is believed to have hit turbulent weather after taking off from the community of Carun en route to Bethel. Also in the plane were six passengers: Neiba Norton, wife of the pilot, Gladis Zerpa an Adventist teacher, a woman accompanying a 14-year-old, and a woman traveling with her young son. "Our church is really distraught about the news of this tragedy," said Rodolfo Escobar, communication director for Venezuela-Antilles Union Mission.

Escobar said church members in Gran Sabana began searching for the missing plane as soon as they heard the news. The National Civil Aviation Institute and several air rescue and non-government organizations immediately began their search but were forced to stop after 72 hours.

The search continued Thursday with contracted rescue organizations. "We are running out of money to pay for the rescue planes but are trusting that God will provide what we need to find our people," Escobar said. Search operations will continue as long as funds are available, he added.

The search continues for the Adventist Medical Aviation Cessna 182N plane which went missing Feb. 16, 2009 in the jungles of Gran Sabana in Venezuela. [Photo: CAUVA]

According to Escobar, there were several accounts from villagers in the adjacent distant areas of Carun who heard the plane's engines go silent at some point during the stormy weather. "We have formed groups to search on the air and several more groups on foot to scour the region where the plane’s communication was last heard," said Escobar.

"We have asked our church members to take a moment to pray every hour of the day for those missing, and we are appealing to our members all around the world to join us in this effort asking for God's intervention during this situation," said Escobar.

Pilot Robert Norton has more than 20 years of flying experience. For the last eight years, he has been the director and pilot of AMA Venezuela, which is based on the campus of La Gran Sabana Adventist School in Santa Elena de Uairén in the state of Bolivar. His wife Neiba, a registered nurse, also works by caring for indigenous people in need of medical attention.

The Adventist Medical Aviation is an international project established more than 12 years ago by David Gates. AMA provides emergency medical transportation and evangelistic support to dozens of otherwise inaccessible villages, enabling the inhabitants to have another chance at
life. AMA in Venezuela has served the indigenous communities in Gran Sabana, Bolivar providing medical transportation to nearly 1,000 patients since 2002.

Day 9: Search Continues For Missing Aircraft BY LIBNA STEVENS, news coordinator, Inter-America Division [ See Original Story ] Nine days since a medical plane carrying three Adventists and four others disappeared in the jungles of Gran Sabana in southeastern Venezuela, but no wreckage or survivors have yet been found. Searchers receive last minute instructions. [Photo: Venezuela National Civil Aviation Institute] On board the missing plane was pilot Robert Norton, who directs the work of the Adventist Medical Aviation in Venezuela, his wife, and patients who were being transported for medical treatment. The search to find the missing Cessna 182N plane has intensified in the air and by land. "Our search groups on the ground have increased to 10 teams searching through the jungle," said Rodolfo Escobar, communication director for the Venezuela Union Mission. "Our church members, along with villagers who are volunteering in the search, are going to continue the search until they find the plane." Escobar, who is briefed daily on the search, said the conviction of the 106 searchers on foot is inspiring. Each search team is made up of 10 or 12 members, including a medical doctor. Escobar added that two days ago one team member got lost but was found the next day. Two helicopters and two small planes have continued the search. They have also been useful in dropping food and supplies to the searchers on the ground. "A lot of resources have been put into this search and we are still hopeful that the plane will turn up soon," said Escobar. "It's in God's hands."