Interview with First Officer Neshomar Anthony
On June 10th, I had the privilege of interviewing First Officer Neshomar Anthony. Mr. Anthony currently is an air ambulance pilot for EZ Air and previously flew for Winair. He currently flies the Learjet 31, 35, and 55. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Joshua Kupietzky: What is your background in aviation?
Neshomar Anthony: I started in 2013, I believe. I began working as the baggage handler at the airport and I started working for some airlines here and there on the island Bonaire and began marshalling airplanes. We also did cargo flights—a lot of things at the airport—so that's how I started in the aviation area, but I was already into aviation since I was a child. Everywhere I used to go I would look at the airplanes and take pictures, you know, [of] everything. That is how it started actually.
JK: When did you make the jump from working at the airport to becoming a pilot?
NA: That was in 2014. Actually, in between, I did my first solo flight here; I was going to high school combined with working at the airport and had been doing one or two flights a month. Flying lessons in the Cessna 152 and 172. Just to get some knowledge and everything before I went for my license—for my private pilot’s license first, because back in those times, I could not do any exams here on the islands and the only option I had was to go to the States to get my FAA license. A lot of people around here recommend going there, and also for flight school. So in 2014, I got my high school diploma here and that was in economy and administration, and then I left a job at the airport and I went to the United States in Vero Beach, Florida. I started [with] my private pilot license and after that, I did everything all the way to a commercial pilot’s license with a multi-engine. That was in 2014, and [in] 2015, I left the airport and went to do flight training.
JK: What was your first job once you got your pilot's license?
NA: I got my license in 2015. I did everything like starting with nothing—zero. I did private [pilot’s license], instrument rating, and commercial [pilot’s license] with multi-engine. I did everything in seven months and a half. And then, I came back to the island because after you finish flight school, you have only like 250 hours total time and that is a little bit less to apply to the airlines here. So what I did was I came back here doing private flights in between flying for myself or with my family or friends, just to build up hours to apply for a job. I did that for about a year and I had the chance to apply for an airline in Saint Martin called Winair. I had some friends working there at that time of the year. They were in need of a pilot, so I applied and I got a response as soon as possible to do the interviews. Everything went perfect, so I got the job to fly the Twin Otter that is a 19-seat passenger [airplane]. After that, I moved to Saint Martin. I worked there for two years flying the Twin Otter in between the islands: Saint Barts, Saba, Anguilla, you know, all of those small islands down there.
JK: How did you make the jump from flying the Twin Otter to the Learjet?
NA: The company down here—EZ Air—they were getting the two Beach 1900s for here, and then we also had the Learjet already. By that time, they only had the application for the Beach so I did apply for the Beach 1900, but at that time, some things were a little bit slow. After a couple of months, they decided to tell me they also have a job opening on the Learjet if you want to apply for the Learjet also. So that was an opportunity for me. I did say yes immediately to go for the Learjet instead of the Beach 1900 because I know already it is going to be a whole ‘nother experience for that, so I got the job immediately to fly the Learjet here based on my island in Bonaire as a first officer. I started in 2018 and first I went to Tucson, Arizona, to do the type rating—that was about two weeks training. After that, I started flying immediately down here as a MedEvac pilot. We only do air ambulance flights to Colombia, South America, also between the islands. We also go to the States, but that is only for maintenance reasons. ‘Til now, I am still flying the Learjet as a first officer. I am not yet a captain. Maybe in the upcoming months or years. I have to wait a little bit.
JK: What are some of your goals in the aviation industry?
NA: Well, first of all, at the moment, my goal is to be captain on the Learjet, and after that, of course, I still want to build a lot of experience flying the Learjet. Build up some jet hours and after that, it depends on the market and the demand. I am very open to doing anything flying, maybe cargo or passenger. My ultimate dream is to fly the big jets like the 777 and I don’t have a rush in my life. I am still young. I am 27 years [old]. I know it is going to take a lot of time. Yeah, that’s it.
JK: What is your favorite aircraft you have flown?
NA: My favorite aircraft... of course, it is the Learjet 30/35. I really like the concept of the airplane. It looks like a fighter jet with the wingtips on the side. Besides that, during flight training, I flew the Piper 28 that is a low-wing aircraft. For me, that was way better than a Cessna 172. I still don’t know why I really like the Piper 28. I also flew the Piper Seneca, but that wasn’t my “favorite favorite” compared to the Piper. For the Twin Otter, it was also my favorite. It was only for the short field landings because for a Twin Otter, you don’t even need a runway to take-off or land, so it's made to do short field take-offs and landings. That's why I really liked it, also. For the big airlines in the future, my favorite airplane type is the 777, the MD- 11, and the 747-8.
JK: What is the biggest difference between the Learjet 31, 35, and 55?
NA: They don’t really have a big difference. All those three airplanes have the same engine and you do the same type rating to fly all of those planes. But the difference is the Learjet 31 and 55 can fly to up to 51,000 feet compared to the 35, which can only go up to 45,000 feet. Comparing the speeds and everything, they all fly the same. Same speed because of the engine and the Learjet 35 has a longer range; because of the fuel tanks on the sides, it gives you more flying time. I think you can fly with the 35 about 4 hours and a half compared to the 31 and 55 you can only do 3 hours and a half, something like that, or three hours. That is one of the big differences between those three airplanes.
JK: What is the longest route you have flown?
NA: The longest I flew was Bonaire to Ft. Lauderdale executive. That is about 2 hours and 45 minutes. That is the longest flight we do on the Learjet. We go on the 31 or the 35. It is only for maintenance, it is not for passengers.
JK: What attracted you to the job of an air ambulance pilot?
NA: I really like adventures. I like experiences. For me, I think the air ambulance was something really different compared to only flying passengers because we do get to see a lot of things. Example: right now, in the pandemic, I flew a lot of corona patients. Patients have to fly as soon as possible or they might be dying or something and you got to do everything to save the patient's life and that is why I really like the air ambulance because it makes you a little bit strong, you get to say crazy things.
JK: Can you describe your typical day as an air ambulance first officer?
NA: I do work 20 “on” days where I am on reserve, standby, [or] on call, and then I have 10 days off. Between the 20 days of working, I am constantly on call, just like now. They just called me to go to work and let's say I get a call from the hospital, I have an hour to get ready and to go to the airport and fly out. Everything happens really fast because you have to do paperwork and flight plans and everything at the same time. Then, go to work and do the air ambulance flight. Example: if we go to South America, let's say Colombia, that is going to take us almost 2 hours flying, and then we go there and we have to wait for the medical crew to go to the hospital and do their job with transferring the patient to the hospital and everything. And then we come back to Bonaire, park the airplane and shut everything down, and then we go home. [I’m] still on call, but it depends how long we have been working because we can have a maximum 14-hour shift in a day. If we work 14 hours, we need 10 hours of rest, so we cannot fly in between the 10 hours, and that is it. What do I do? I am just doing things at home or somewhere else doing other jobs or I go to the beach. Chill with the family or the girlfriend. It is really flexible. It is a really flexible schedule as an air ambulance pilot. I see it like that.
JK: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
NA: You feel really good if you do a flight. The patient gets to the hospital and you come home and then you get to know from the medical crew that the flight went perfect, the patient was in good hands and the transfer ran good. Then, you know it is a goal, like, you come home, you can relax, and sleep good, and that was the end of your day.
JK: Which company runs the air ambulance company?
NA: It runs from our company called EZ Air. They also have the Beach 1900, so everything falls under the same company, but we do have a contract with the hospital here on the island. Sometimes, we also do other flights for other hospitals between the islands. That's the way they operate the flights here, with a contract with the hospital.
JK: What is the most challenging airport you've flown into or out of?
NA: I would say it is called Sint Eustatius, they call it Statia. It is about 10 minutes flying from Saint Martin. It is a really small island and it is always a little bit challenging because the airport is right next to a short hill, and every time, you get strong winds over there and a little bit of turbulence. For me, that is the reason. It also has a short runway; for me, that was the most challenging runway for me to land on. We also have airports in Colombia that are in between the mountains. For me, I don’t think that is a really challenging airport to land on because the runway is long enough. But the only thing Colombia has that is really challenging is if we do flights during late nights, most of the time it is bad weather over there. You get lightning strikes and turbulence, sometimes you do get hail or rain—a lot of things. No visibility and fog makes it challenging to land in Colombia, especially if you have Medellín or Cali or Bogotá, also. All of them are constructed on top of the hill and the other ones are between the hills. Something like that.
