The Worst Place to Be a Pilot:  Bush Flying Papua's Deadliest Airstrips | Matt Dearden

The Worst Place to Be a Pilot: Bush Flying Papua's Deadliest Airstrips | Matt Dearden

From Adventure Diaries: Exploration, Survival & Travel Stories by Chris Watson: Storyteller & Micro-Adventurer

June 11, 2026 · 1h 26m · Season 5 · Episode 11

About this episode

Matt Dearden shares his experiences flying dangerous bush pilot routes in Papua, Indonesia.

🎧 Follow the show here— it really helps Adventure Diaries reach more listeners. Thank you. From a desk job in IT to flying one of the world's most dangerous bush pilot routes — Matt Dearden spent seven years flying the Pilatus Porter into 30% gradient mountain airstrips in the remote highlands of Papua, Indonesia. After landing a Susi Air co-pilot job with just 10 days' notice, Matt sold his car, rented out his house, and boarded a one-way flight to a country he'd never visited. In this epis...

People in this episode

Host: Chris Watson

Guest: Matt Dearden

Topics covered

  • bush flying
  • aviation
  • Papua
  • adventure
  • survival
  • mountain airstrips

Keywords

  • bush flying
  • Papua
  • aviation
  • mountain airstrips
  • Susi Air
  • adventure
  • survival

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Susi Air

Places: Papua, Indonesia

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