Air Niugini’s most senior Boeing Captain and the longest serving pilot Captain Paun Nonggorr and his son, Captain Jason Nonggorr, have made history by becoming the first Papua New Guinean father and son Captains flying for the national flag carrier.
Although they are not on the same aircraft type, their achievement as Papua New Guinean father and son Captains is the first for Air Niugini, if not Papua New Guinea.
The senior Nonggorr is Captain on the Boeing 767 jet and his son Jason is Captain on the Fokker 100 jet aircraft.
From the Koepka Ramdi Tribe of Koepka, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Captain Paun Nonggorr was also the youngest national to have attained command on Fokker F28 jet aircraft at the age of 26 in 1983.
He has been with Air Niugini for 44 years – 35 of these years, since 1985, flying Air Niugini’s wide body Boeing 767, Airbus 310 and Airbus 300 aircraft on International routes.
Despite all his flying achievements, as a father nothing beats seeing his son following in his footsteps. Captain Jason Nonggorr attained his command as a fully-fledged Captain on Fokker 100 jet aircraft six months ago, a proud moment for the Nonggorr family.
Senior Captain Nonggorr said, “A lot of hard-work, commitment and discipline is required to become a pilot. Jason has reached a milestone in aviation from being a pilot to becoming a fully-fledged Fokker F100 Captain and we his families from Mount Hagen and his mother’s people from Wuvulu Island, Manus are proud of his achievement.”
Being raised by a pilot for a father and a mother who previously worked as a flight attendant has helped Jason’s drive in signing up for a pilot career.
“My earliest childhood memories are that of watching my father command the Airbus A310 aircraft from the jump-seat, which further increased my fascination about aviation and inspired me to become a pilot,” Captain Jason Nonggorr explained.
Captain Paun Nonggorr holds seniority number 1 of all pilots National and Expatriate in Air Niugini.
“The secret that keeps me flying all these years is that it’s fun to have an office way up among the stars. Although, it can be stressful at times, it comes with self discipline and some regimentation. You also get a good idea of all aspects of what happens around the world,” he said.
Source: Air Niugini
