Fokker 70 Air Niugini (Exclusive Deal)

“ Rabaul Princess , Centre. Radar contact. Descend to one-one thousand, expect visual approach Rabaul runway 28.”

Tonight, however, the aircraft carried more than just passengers and cargo. In the forward hold, strapped down under three layers of netting, was a large, styrofoam-insulated box. Inside, kept cool by gel packs, were twenty delicate, genetically-modified vanilla orchid seedlings. They were a gift from a Taiwanese agricultural firm to a collective of village farmers in the Gazelle Peninsula. The seedlings were the future—a cash crop resistant to the blight that had decimated their traditional vines. Fokker 70 Air Niugini

“ Rabaul Princess , Mayday received. You are cleared direct. Descend and maintain one-zero thousand. No other traffic.” “ Rabaul Princess , Centre

The Rabaul Princess rolled to a stop with barely 200 feet of asphalt to spare. The heat from the brakes shimmered in the air. In the forward hold, strapped down under three

Julie was already running the emergency descent checklist. “Thrust idle. Speed brakes out.” The Fokker 70 shuddered as it dove, its nose dropping sharply. The lush, volcanic peaks of New Britain rushed up to meet them. Inside the cabin, the 52 passengers—moms with babies, businessmen in wrinkled polo shirts, a missionary clutching a Bible—held the yellow masks to their faces, eyes wide.

The applause from the cabin was faint but audible through the cockpit door.