Helene relief flights

[AlleyCat67]

Yesterday I took part in transporting supplies to western North Carolina as part of the Hurricane Helene relief effort. While we often wring our hands about the declining state of GA, it was honestly inspiring to see hundreds of planes and pilots of all types crisscrossing the state to get supplies to the affected communities. There were probably 50+ planes being marshalled at Statesville alone, everything from Cessna 172s to King Airs and even a DC-3. And dozens of local volunteers making up pallets of supplies and loading them onto planes and helicopters.

I really wish/hope a documentary filmmaker was on the ground to capture the impact of the relief flights and tell some of the stories. If ever there was a "feel good" story to tell about the value of GA and small airports this was it.

As a side note, one of the oddest and saddest comments I got was from a woman organizing supply distribution in Ashe County. When I asked her what additional supplies were really needed she sort of whispered "alcohol". Apparently they have a lot of dependent folks going through the DT's because they can't find liquor.

 

[Kitch]

Very awesome !! I set out to head down last weekend for the week. Unfortunately it's my busy time of year and couldn't break away.

 

[Brad W]

I was wondering about this a few days ago...
Saw a vid online, well actually a couple of them...involving folks with private helicopters doing some volunteer relief flights
Set me to wondering what good could a fixed wing really do?
A helo can drop into places up a haller' that have been cut off by road...but I don't image there are too many runways that are isolated and cut off by road to the outside world. Maybe some expediting of "stuff" from outside of the immediate area... like medicine or whatever coming from a longer distance away...but what other sorts of things can a fixed-wing pilot really offer (especially a PPL, not capable of "air taxi" transport type stuff)

 

[RyanB]

Yes, we did lots this week.

 

[AlleyCat67]

I was wondering about this a few days ago...
Saw a vid online, well actually a couple of them...involving folks with private helicopters doing some volunteer relief flights
Set me to wondering what good could a fixed wing really do?
A helo can drop into places up a haller' that have been cut off by road...but I don't image there are too many runways that are isolated and cut off by road to the outside world. Maybe some expediting of "stuff" from outside of the immediate area... like medicine or whatever coming from a longer distance away...but what other sorts of things can a fixed-wing pilot really offer (especially a PPL, not capable of "air taxi" transport type stuff)

It's a valid point, and helos seem to be the most useful/needed transport down there. I talked to one guy whose company lent their pilots and helicopters for the relief effort and they could get into individual communities, which was good to see. I'd say fixed wing has been useful for collecting supplies from a wider area. Lots of people in surrounding states are happy to donate materials, but trucking them down several hundred miles isn't trivial, and GA really helps with that. But that's just my (non expert) take.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Set me to wondering what good could a fixed wing really do?

Are you being a little myopic? There are multiple delivery issues with multiple solutions. Yes, of course helicopters are necessary to ultimately get supplies to remote locations when roads are closed and runways inaccessible. But one of the things going on is people donating essentials from all over the state and beyond. It would be a very inefficient use of helicopter time to transport supplies, clothing, diapers, etc from Wilmington on the coast to staging areas in Asheville, Statesville, Hickory, etc. where helicopters (and, fortunately now, trucks) are able to pick them up and get them where needed.

Obviously trucks can carry more from distant sites. I have heard people point out that one 18 wheeler can carry more than 30 light GA flights. But not as quickly as those 30 and more GA flights.

Then there’s the community aspect. And I don’t just mean the aviation community. Something this country is sorely missing.

 

[Salty]

The spiritual uplift a victim feels from seeing their community come together to help them out is almost as important as the actual resources. A FEMA semi does not provide the same level of emotional support. Seeing strangers come to help out of their own compassion inspires them to pay it forward the next time when they are not the victim. A FEMA truck does none of this. They know when the truck leaves, the support is gone.

We all *hope* FEMA and local officials do what's right. But we can all simply take the time do what's right ourselves and accomplish so much more.

Kudos to anyone who volunteered. Even if nobody was saved by the bottle of water you distributed, you still made a difference.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Yesterday I took part in transporting supplies to western North Carolina as part of the Hurricane Helene relief effort. While we often wring our hands about the declining state of GA, it was honestly inspiring to see hundreds of planes and pilots of all types crisscrossing the state to get supplies to the affected communities. There were probably 50+ planes being marshalled at Statesville alone, everything from Cessna 172s to King Airs and even a DC-3. And dozens of local volunteers making up pallets of supplies and loading them onto planes and helicopters.

I really wish/hope a documentary filmmaker was on the ground to capture the impact of the relief flights and tell some of the stories. If ever there was a "feel good" story to tell about the value of GA and small airports this was it.

As a side note, one of the oddest and saddest comments I got was from a woman organizing supply distribution in Ashe County. When I asked her what additional supplies were really needed she sort of whispered "alcohol". Apparently they have a lot of dependent folks going through the DT's because they can't find liquor.

You never know how things may turn out. Maybe the lack of alcohol sets them onto a new track in life. Praying for them.

 

[MBDiagMan]

The spiritual uplift a victim feels from seeing their community come together to help them out is almost as important as the actual resources. A FEMA semi does not provide the same level of emotional support. Seeing strangers come to help out of their own compassion inspires them to pay it forward the next time when they are not the victim. A FEMA truck does none of this. They know when the truck leaves, the support is gone.

We all *hope* FEMA and local officials do what's right. But we can all simply take the time do what's right ourselves and accomplish so much more.

Kudos to anyone who volunteered.

This is SO true. I began with Hurricane Michael doing volunteer disaster relief work. Our primary mission is to give people hope and comfort at a time when they really need it. If it weren’t for my wife going through some serious medical treatment at this time, I would already be on the East Coast assessing work. I feel like I’m letting them down, but my own family is more important.

 

[k9medic]

I've mentioned this before but will mention it again - Florida does it right. Unfortunately, that is because "we" have had plenty of practice. As a matter of fact, we might get to do it again this week...

Federal government help has to come from a State request. The State request comes from a local county request. It's a "push up" system.

Specific to Florida, a county identifies it's needs and then places that request through their EOC to the state EOC. The state EOC determins if they can manage the request with state assets. If not, they state requests federal government/ FEMA assistance. We all work very closely and sometimes you can't tell who works for what agency but when it comes to the request, we are pretty direct in the process.

I am not sure if these other states operate at the same level, but the order of operations is the same.

 

[AvNavCom]

Would be ideal if we could make "clear off your local runway/airport as soon as possible" a big and public part of any disaster relief plan. Not only would it maximize the number of locations for supplies and personnel to arrive, but it would drive home the importance of communities having an air link. Maybe there would be fewer people with an appetite to close the local aerodrome if they were intermittently reminded that they might depend on it one day.

 

[simie1]

I flew a load into Ashe County KGEV yesterday right as the weather improved to MVFR. Couldn’t believe the volunteer effort down there. I was maybe 4th plane in, was there maybe 20 minutes - volunteers had my plane unloaded before I got back from the bathroom - and 20 or more planes came in at least. Unbelievable. RVs to a Citation and Beech 18. Had my kid with me who led effort at his HS to collect supplies. He and his brother have joined me in cleaning up floods here. It was an inspiring day and we’ll keep at it.

 

[GLMS_NC]

Yesterday I took part in transporting supplies to western North Carolina as part of the Hurricane Helene relief effort. While we often wring our hands about the declining state of GA, it was honestly inspiring to see hundreds of planes and pilots of all types crisscrossing the state to get supplies to the affected communities. There were probably 50+ planes being marshalled at Statesville alone, everything from Cessna 172s to King Airs and even a DC-3. And dozens of local volunteers making up pallets of supplies and loading them onto planes and helicopters.

I really wish/hope a documentary filmmaker was on the ground to capture the impact of the relief flights and tell some of the stories. If ever there was a "feel good" story to tell about the value of GA and small airports this was it.

As a side note, one of the oddest and saddest comments I got was from a woman organizing supply distribution in Ashe County. When I asked her what additional supplies were really needed she sort of whispered "alcohol". Apparently they have a lot of dependent folks going through the DT's because they can't find liquor.

Andrea was her name (she was simply amazing at organizing) and she told me the same thing. I made a flight to go get her some and brought it back. It was a bit odd buying hundreds of mini-bottles at the ABC store!

The organization at GEV was incredible. They were ignored by government aid and GA saved Ashe County. I flew in/out of there all week chasing and lining up what Andrea needed. They were so appreciative and thank you GA and all the donors for all you did this week.

 

[Llewtrah381]

I've mentioned this before but will mention it again - Florida does it right. Unfortunately, that is because "we" have had plenty of practice. As a matter of fact, we might get to do it again this week...

This reminded me of a hospital assessment I did in San Juan, Puerto Rico about 10 years ago. Part of the assessment was to discuss their contingency plans, which included discussion of their threat matrix. They asked me what I thought their #1 concern was and I naively said “hurricane”. He said nope - we get those all the time and can see them coming. Earthquakes! I had no idea PR sits on an earthquake fault (duh - so does Haiti). They can’t predict those, don’t know if they’ll personally be taken out of the picture capabilities-wise, and have no real idea of the potential impact.

Disaster planning is complicated business.

 

[AKiss20]

As a side note, one of the oddest and saddest comments I got was from a woman organizing supply distribution in Ashe County. When I asked her what additional supplies were really needed she sort of whispered "alcohol". Apparently they have a lot of dependent folks going through the DT's because they can't find liquor.

This is the same reason liquor stores were labeled “essential businesses” during the COVID lockdowns, to much derision and accusations of incompetence and/or corruption. Cold turkey alcohol withdrawal for a hardened alcoholic is no joke and can easily turn deadly. When one of my loved ones got sober he spent 2 weeks in rehab and had to be weaned off with a cocktail of drugs to prevent complications. Alcohol is pretty serious stuff that we treat pretty loosely for historical reasons.

 

[Racerx]

Im curious who is actually doing the organizing for things like this. Is it a local agency? Or a rag tag group of ground zero volunteers that recognized a need.

I hope AOPA/EAA took advantage of GA's good will to highlight the good and generosity and show how important our airport infrastructure actually is. Too often the only time GA gets press is from a crash. We need the good press.

@AlleyCat67, @RyanB, @simie1, @GLMS_NC and any others, thank you for doing yeoman's work. If our paths cross, next rounds on me.

 

[sansoneservices]

Yesterday I took part in transporting supplies to western North Carolina as part of the Hurricane Helene relief effort. While we often wring our hands about the declining state of GA, it was honestly inspiring to see hundreds of planes and pilots of all types crisscrossing the state to get supplies to the affected communities. There were probably 50+ planes being marshalled at Statesville alone, everything from Cessna 172s to King Airs and even a DC-3. And dozens of local volunteers making up pallets of supplies and loading them onto planes and helicopters.

I really wish/hope a documentary filmmaker was on the ground to capture the impact of the relief flights and tell some of the stories. If ever there was a "feel good" story to tell about the value of GA and small airports this was it.

As a side note, one of the oddest and saddest comments I got was from a woman organizing supply distribution in Ashe County. When I asked her what additional supplies were really needed she sort of whispered "alcohol". Apparently they have a lot of dependent folks going through the DT's because they can't find liquor.

Any truth to the reports that trucks are being stopped by FEMA and turned away?

 

[AlleyCat67]

I don’t know… all I saw were trucks and helicopters being loaded at the airport. I have read requests that individual trucks not try to bring supplies into Asheville itself because the roads are likited and congested. Similarly both AVL and HKY are shut off to GA because those airports are being used for larger air transport efforts.

 

[Witmo]

I saw a TV news story about a private helicopter trying to rescue a couple with their pets whose house had been washed away and they were stranded with no way to get out. The couple flagged him down as he was flying up the river. He landed and took the woman to safety but had to leave his son and the husband promising he'd be back. He flew her to a rescue "headquarters" where he was threatened with arrest if he didn't stop rescuing people. There was no active TFR at the time. The pilot returned for his son and apologized to the husband assuring him the "authorities" knew he was there and would come for him. After the helicopter left, the husband was able to attract the attention of a passing fire dept boat and he had to enter the water to board the boat to get rescued. The fire dept chief who had threatened the arrest of the helicopter pilot refused to be interviewed. The city manager was interviewed and defended the fire chief by saying you can't have civilian helicopters flying around rescuing people and getting in the way. The next day "authorities" broadcast a plea for private helicopters to come and aid rescue efforts.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Potential bright side to the alcohol problem is that it IS TN/NC so they can probably get the stills going for some moonshine pretty quickly!

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

Any truth to the reports that trucks are being stopped by FEMA and turned away?

Considering there aren't roads anymore in some of these areas, probably some truth to it, except it would be local law enforcement, not FEMA.

 

[Mahneuvers]

Im curious who is actually doing the organizing for things like this...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=519193527503799

I flew out of JAARS Tuesday. Quite an operation.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Im curious who is actually doing the organizing for things like this. Is it a local agency? Or a rag tag group of ground zero volunteers that recognized a need.

Aerobridge and Operation Airdrop are two organizations which do coordination. But there are other smaller groups and a bit of rag tag to fulfill needs.

 

[jbarrass]

Our local airport (KJYO) has a dozen planes shuttling supplies, staging out of the FBO. Been getting really positive press in the media the last couple days. Not centrally organized, smokehouse pilots is getting the word out and people are stepping up.

 

[eman1200]

 

[AvNavCom]

One of the major aspects of a coordinated emergency response is people volunteering or otherwise freelancing. On the one hand, it's an amazing resource and--properly managed--such volunteers can really help with logistics, manpower, and expertise. On the other hand, you can have people showing up who subsequently become a drain on limited local resources because they need food, water, shelter, fuel, and so forth. Well-intentioned without a doubt, but potentially troublesome.

I think there are two good rules for disaster volunteer efforts:

(1) Be completely self-sufficient (or at least have logistics arranged) for the duration of your time in the disaster relief area, without any expectation that resources will be available to you while there.

(2) Do not interfere with the formal emergency response, as this may disrupt operations or larger scale support/logistics which have usually been planned out many years in advance. If possible, notify the emergency response coordination team and let them task you within their own effort.

I think it's absolutely awesome that GA has stepped up, and it's a shame that some asshats like the fire chief threatening to arrest a helo guy are getting any press. Frankly, I would love AOPA, Operation Airdrop, Aerobridge, and local pilot groups to be involved in disaster response planning with the specific angle of how GA will be available and how it can be best utilized by on-scene commanders who may have little experience. If GA has worked as well as it has, now imagine a C-5 dropping off pallets at the closest major airport for distribution by a fleet of volunteer light GA aircraft!

 

[John Collins]

I was able to make 4 flights out of KJQF Concord. They were well organized, pallets were made up with specific weights, so we took 300 pound pallets each flight, which worked for my Bonanza. I could not max out the weight because of CG limitations. At the destination, we were marshalled into a line, shut down and other volunteers formed a sort of bucket line with maybe 50 people, handing each item to the next person and right onto the truck. When they were done, they showed appreciation by clapping and the lead person handed me and my copilot each a hand drawn thankyou card from the local kindergarten class. It was a nice touch. I would have flown on Wednesday, but with the VIP TFR getting in the way, it did not make sense.

 

[Ozone]

You never know how things may turn out. Maybe the lack of alcohol sets them onto a new track in life. Praying for them.

As someone who works in the medical field, please allow me to correct a mis-perception: the DT's (delerium tremens) can kill someone. Withdrawing from chronic alcohol addiction can be tricky in a hospital setting.
Outside of a hospital, the only thing these folks will learn is how to die; painfully.

And before anyone tries to say "tough luck' or "they deserve it", keep in mind that the vast majority of substance addicts were either sexually or physically abused (or both) as children. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0740547288900323

 

[Hangontight]

Came down from IL and hauled loads out of Statesville Thursday and Friday. It was a great experience to be able to contribute what we could. We hauled (5) 400# loads into the mountains before returning home.

 

[ahmad]

I just got back from Statesville. Took the owner of the malibu and supplies there. it felt like arriving at Oshkosh. 100s of planes and people. Worked at my day job half a day on thur. Flew the malibu to KSVH. Jumped in an uber to catch a southwest flight to Chicago to see the good Dr. Chien for my medical. Jumped back on the southwest to Charlotte. Flew back Saturday (LIFR dense fog zero visibility take off) to get the owner back to IL.

it was amazing to see humanity come together.

 

[Pinecone]

I've mentioned this before but will mention it again - Florida does it right. Unfortunately, that is because "we" have had plenty of practice. As a matter of fact, we might get to do it again this week...

Federal government help has to come from a State request. The State request comes from a local county request. It's a "push up" system.

Specific to Florida, a county identifies it's needs and then places that request through their EOC to the state EOC. The state EOC determins if they can manage the request with state assets. If not, they state requests federal government/ FEMA assistance. We all work very closely and sometimes you can't tell who works for what agency but when it comes to the request, we are pretty direct in the process.

I am not sure if these other states operate at the same level, but the order of operations is the same.

I used to work for FEMA.

And people do not realize that FEMA does TWO major things. They coordinate efforts at the Federal level and the PAY FOR THINGS.

They don't do things. They don't fill sandbags or haul trash. But they pay for the materials and many times, the labor, for doing those things.

 

[midwestpa24]

I've lived through one of the major natural disasters in recent history, Hurricane Katrina. Here are a few of my observations.

- Don't depend on the government to be the saving grace, not the feds, state, or local. Yourself, friends, family, neighbors are going to be your first responders.

- FEMA's Katrina response was a bit of a joke. Prime example, they showed up in our smallish town which became a major evacuation point from the coast, being the first town you come to that didn't wash away. They came with a few semi's of water and MREs, took over a grocery store parking lot at the busiest intersection of two state highways in town. Not only did it shut down any attempt for that grocery store to open, it shut down all local highway traffic due to congestion, and generated a single file line of cars over a mile long waiting to get into the parking lot to get their share. The supplies didn't last long, and many people ran out of precious gas waiting in the line, when there was no where for 100 miles to get gas. After several days of rinse and repeat of this madness, the military showed up and set up mini distribution points throughout the county using Blackhawks and Chinooks to move stuff around. If the US military knows how to do anything, its logistics. UPS, Fedex, and the Post Office can't hold a candle to that.

- There were a lot of free-lance charity and organizations that wanted to get in and help. Our nation is good at that, a lot of people that want to help. The only problem is organization and logistics, how to get those supplies in the hands of people that need it, and ensuring the correct supplies are brought in. There were hangars and warehouses of well intentioned donations that either weren't needed, or had no way of reaching those in need. That's where it really helps to work with a bigger organization to ensure your "help" is truly needed and utilized.

- Like the battle with the fire chief and helo pilot, that obviously could have gone a lot better. The chief was likely overwhelmed and outgunned by the situation and resulting stress, and trying to corral the chaos. But at the same time, that is the time to think outside the box, delegate, and accept non-traditional assistance, but in a controlled manner. Believe me, no fire chief has really ever experienced large portions of their community washed away, 100s or 1,000s missing and/or calling for help. The power is out, communications are down, staff is missing, equipment is lost, fuel is running short, its a scenario you can't even imagine in your nightmares. After Katrina, we didn't have local law or fire available, those fine folks lost everything too and were just struggling to survive with their families. The first sign of law enforcement after the storm was the US Army (not national guard in our area) on full combat type patrol. It was a sight to see, felt bad for those guys in full battle attire in the high heat/humidity of the Gulf Coast.

Probably the only cool part of that adventure, sitting on my front porch watching a KC-130 refueling helicopters at 1,000 feet AGL. The airport fuel systems in our area were all down, so they were having to in-flight refuel.

 

[ahmad]

Well, looks like I am headed down there again today after my day job shift finishes today.

 

[Iflydogs]

I flew a load into Hickory NC yesterday and it went very smoothly. The tower had fixed wing landing on 24 and rotorcraft over on 19 to separate us. I was unloaded and refueled in 20 minutes. All kinds of people were there, sheriffs deputies, police, military, civilians.it was busy but organized.

Blog | Henry Rausch

Blog by Author Henry Rausch

henryrausch.com

 

[k9medic]

Response 20 years ago was a lot different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[midwestpa24]

Response 20 years ago was a lot different.


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I would certainly hope so.

 

[donjohnston]

- FEMA's Katrina response was a bit of a joke. Prime example, they showed up in our smallish town which became a major evacuation point from the coast, being the first town you come to that didn't wash away. They came with a few semi's of water and MREs, took over a grocery store parking lot at the busiest intersection of two state highways in town. Not only did it shut down any attempt for that grocery store to open, it shut down all local highway traffic due to congestion, and generated a single file line of cars over a mile long waiting to get into the parking lot to get their share. The supplies didn't last long, and many people ran out of precious gas waiting in the line, when there was no where for 100 miles to get gas. After several days of rinse and repeat of this madness, the military showed up and set up mini distribution points throughout the county using Blackhawks and Chinooks to move stuff around. If the US military knows how to do anything, its logistics. UPS, Fedex, and the Post Office can't hold a candle to that.

- There were a lot of free-lance charity and organizations that wanted to get in and help. Our nation is good at that, a lot of people that want to help. The only problem is organization and logistics, how to get those supplies in the hands of people that need it, and ensuring the correct supplies are brought in. There were hangars and warehouses of well intentioned donations that either weren't needed, or had no way of reaching those in need. That's where it really helps to work with a bigger organization to ensure your "help" is truly needed and utilized.

- Like the battle with the fire chief and helo pilot, that obviously could have gone a lot better. The chief was likely overwhelmed and outgunned by the situation and resulting stress, and trying to corral the chaos. But at the same time, that is the time to think outside the box, delegate, and accept non-traditional assistance, but in a controlled manner. Believe me, no fire chief has really ever experienced large portions of their community washed away, 100s or 1,000s missing and/or calling for help. The power is out, communications are down, staff is missing, equipment is lost, fuel is running short, its a scenario you can't even imagine in your nightmares. After Katrina, we didn't have local law or fire available, those fine folks lost everything too and were just struggling to survive with their families. The first sign of law enforcement after the storm was the US Army (not national guard in our area) on full combat type patrol. It was a sight to see, felt bad for those guys in full battle attire in the high heat/humidity of the Gulf Coast.

Probably the only cool part of that adventure, sitting on my front porch watching a KC-130 refueling helicopters at 1,000 feet AGL. The airport fuel systems in our area were all down, so they were having to in-flight refuel.

To be fair, I think Katrina changed a lot of things about FEMA's hurricane response.

FEMA's response in Panama City after Michael was excellent. But IMO, FEMA is more of a facilitator. The debris removal trucks, for example, are privately owned. FEMA finds collection points for those trucks and pays them. The roadsides around here were piled 10 feet high. Then FEMA arranges for the big trucks to haul the debris from the collection points and setup the grinders to dispose of the trees. FEMA can't fix power and phone lines. The utility companies have a pretty good handle on that already.

I can't say enough good things about groups like Samaritan's Purse, CIA (Christ In Action), and about a dozen others that were on the ground within 48 hours with chainsaws and skid steers clearing fallen trees from roads and removing trees from houses. Our neighborhood would have been inaccessible for 1-2 weeks if it weren't for these guys. And the ONLY thing they ever asked for is a place to setup their trailer and tents.

I think one improvement that FEMA could make is to be able to identify the scam contractors and hang them from lamp poles. Because they were one of the worst parts about recovering from a Cat 5 hurricane.