By B.B
For Horizon

Mr. Dave Shay, the man who transformed the Airai airport runway from a World War 11 prop-fighter plane runway into a facility that could accommodate jet aircrafts, is still unhappy with all the talks made in the recent Regional Aviation Directors’ Conference held here in Palau. "Not one speaker addressed the single most important issue (runway safety zones) facing the countries and territories in the Pacific, including the Republic of Palau," Dave said.
A news report by the Associated Press (AP) last November, which quoted statistics from the US Federal Aviation Administration, said many airport runways in the US, including some at the busiest airports in the country such as LA’s International and Chicago’s O’Hare International have runways that do not meet safety standards because they lack the 1,000-foot safety margins at the end of their runways. The report went on to say that Saipan and Tinian airports are among those that do not meet the FAA safety standards.
"Of course our own Airai runway doesn’t have that 1000-fooot safety margin, but no one mentioned it at the conference. If one of these days an airplane were to crash on our runway (God forbid), Palau could be sued right off the planet Earth", Dave said. The Ministry of Commerce and Trade is having high hopes of getting FAA funds to improve our airport facilities. They should include the "run-way safety margin" in their request for assistance from the United States Government.
We note that Hawaii Senator Daniel K Inoue has pledged to support Palau, the FSM, and the Marshalls in their efforts to secure FAA funding for their airport improvement works. We are very fortunate to have such an influential man in the US Congress speaking for us. Senator Inoue knows Palau well. As one of the two senators from the new 50th State of Hawaii, he visited Palau in 1961 by flying in on the SA-16 flying boat, which landed in the waters outside Meyuns. Palau had no land airport at that time. With the good Senator’s assistance, a "safety margin" for our runway could be installed 46 years after the Hawaii Senator first set foot on Palau.
Adieu Johnny Reklai, Tosiwo Nakayama
An old Palauan wise man once said that our ancestors (Beldeked) allow big misfortunes to visit us in pair so that our pains may only be felt at one time instead of being spread over a long period of time. Shortly after we buried our Senator Reklai, we received word about the death of one of Micronesia’s most well-known statesmen—former FSM President Tosiwo Nakayama. I knew Tosh Nakayama well. I had many opportunities to work with him, along with many other prominent Micronesian leaders, on the future political status issue, which confronted the people of Micronesia during the sixties and the seventies.
In the photograph below, I (skinny fellow standing next to Nakayama) interpreted for Nakayama and John Mangefel at a meeting held at Peleliu in 1969, 38 years ago, where the Compact of Free Association was explained to the people. Palau Congressman Minoru Ueki (seating) also attended that meeting. Peleliu’s Chief Obak Kloulubak is on the right making a point.