CEO/Co-FounderMark Palm
Mark Palm is the CEO and co-founder of Samaritan Aviation. He was raised as a pastor’s son and during his teenage years had the opportunity to work with his parents who managed a homeless mission in Santa Cruz, California. He was also influenced by his grandfather who was a fighter pilot during World War II. A trip to Mexico during high school changed his life as he saw the struggles which most of the world faces on a daily basis.
At age 19, he traveled with a friend to Papua New Guinea and experienced the remoteness of this country and witnessed firsthand the medical and spiritual needs of the people. He observed how little things like a small cut could easily turn into tropical ulcers, causing people to lose limbs and ultimately their lives.
He returned to the United States and attended Hobe Sound Bible College in Florida, then went to MiraMar College in San Diego, California and obtained a degree in Aviation Technology. During this time he met Kirsten and later they were married. Mark and Kirsten have three kids, Sierra, Drake, and Nolan.
Mark holds a Commercial Pilots License with Instrument and Seaplane ratings. He also holds a FAA and PNG Aircraft Engineers licenses.
Mark co-founded Samaritan Aviation in 2000 and put together a plan to move his family along with one floatplane to Papua New Guinea. Flight operations began in 2010.
Mark has flown over 1,000 life saving missions in the remote jungles of PNG. He has become an expert in PNG culture and medical service delivery and the struggles that the remote villages face. He has been the Keynote speaker at the PNG National Health conference two times in the past three years and has served as a consultant for the PNG National Health Department, the PNG Civil Aviation, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF.
He is a sought after speaker who has thrilled audiences with his stories of life saving flights, and transformational moments as people have responded to the message of hope and redemption. He has been interviewed by international television CNN International, ABC News Australia, EMTV News, and NBC News PNG. Radio programs BBC, Australia, NBC News PNG, and has been featured in People magazine as an American Hero. (see list below)
To date, five missionary families and three stateside staff members work closely together to fulfill Samaritan Aviation’s mission in Papua New Guinea.
In 2020, Samaritan Aviation will celebrate 20 years as an organization and 10 years of flight operations in Papua New Guinea.
Over the span of almost a decade…
- Samaritan Aviation has flown close to 1,500 flights without an accident.
- Over 1,000 patients have been flown to Boram hospital with a 96% recovery rate.
- Over 165,000 lbs of medical supplies have been flown to 40 aid posts located along the Sepik river in the East Sepik Province.
- Various other flights to aid in search and rescue, disaster relief and government exploratory trips have also been conducted.
- Plans for a second base on the Fly river in the Western province are in the works.
The story of Samaritan Aviation is remarkable. So much so, the following media and news outlets and publications have interviewed Mark and shared these conversations to thousands of others.
CNN International – Isha Sesay interviewed CEO/Founder Mark Palm for 5-minutes during prime time on February 13th, 2018
ABC News Australia – https://youtu.be/KPyL0YEiAzk
Local Network News Channels NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, PBS in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, San Diego, Australia and France along with other smaller markets reported and conducted interviews with CEO/Founder Mark Palm about Samaritan Aviation’s work in Papua New Guinea.
National Radio – Jim Bohannon, Janet Parshall, Bill Bumpas who have syndicated radio programs have interview Mark Palm along with a number of local AM and FM stations.
People Magazine – Listed the Palm family as one of our American Heroes in a special addition magazine distributed in May of 2016.
Surfer – Kimball Taylor and Ryan Craig presented an eight-page story in the premier surf magazine December of 2016.
American Family Journal – Article about the Palm family written by Rebecca Davis 12/15.
AOPA – Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association magazine – (circulation of 500,000) have written several stories about Samaritan Aviation.
Newspapers – Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, Santa Cruz Sentinel, along with a number of smaller newspapers have written articles about our work in Papua New Guinea.