RANGE of PRESS on GA NC HELENE RELIEF EFFORTS
Hurricane Helene has been the focus of national attention. Debates about what was or was not done to address this disaster. Various reports have estimated that OVER 600 rescue missions have been flown by volunteers in their own aircraft.
GOOGLE® research found no national newspaper reported on these charitable actions. Trade press did post accounts of the efforts and NBC NEWS did extol these flights as major contributions to getting needed supplies to areas inaccessible by ground transportation. These pilots asked what their country, in particular the people of Western North Carolina NEED and their PLANES DELIVERED.
Curiously, CBS NEWS chose to run with a story, from a FEDERAL OFFICIAL BRIEFING, THAT “approximately 30 mid-air close calls” had occurred. “Mid-air Close Calls” isnot the technical term used by the FAA as CBS should know given the number of its stories on this subject. The proper term is “NEAR MIDAIR COLLISION” (NMAC) which is defined as “an incident associated with the operation of an aircraft in which a possibility of collision occurs as a result of proximity of less than 500 feet to another aircraft, or a report is received from a pilot or a flight crewmember stating that a collision hazard existed between two or more aircraft.”
Use of this undefined term obfuscates what CBS meant by Close Calls—
- greater than 500’?
- not really a collision hazard?
- not reported via ASRS?
- not yet processed by the NMAC Reporting System?
- The federal official briefing really was not authorized nor competent to report NMACs?
This report might have been more credible if the author mentioned that the Western North Carolina airspace was crowded with all of the rescue flights, including 600 Volunteer Missions???
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Bizav at Work: Small Company CEO Joins Pilot Brigade in Helene’s Wake
Oct. 7, 2024
In times of crisis, business aviation is uniquely able to reach remote areas to deliver food, water and other essentials in the aftermath of natural disasters.
Such is the case for Patriot Valley Manufacturing owner Josh Kunz, who has joined countless other small business owners in using their company’s aircraft to rush critically needed supplies to locations impacted by Hurricane Helene.
In a span of just two days, Kunz flew the Mooney 305 Rocket he typically uses for business from his Pottstown, PA home base for successive relief missions in support of Dan’s Hurricane Pals and Operation Airdrop – two grassroots organizations coordinating hurricane-relief flights into Asheville, N.C., and other devastated areas.
On each flight, Kunz brought in about 450 pounds of supplies, including medicines, bleach, water purification equipment and other cleaning supplies – in some cases taking the back seat out of the plane, so he could deliver a maximum payload to those in need.
“People can go without water, critical medications and baby formula for one-to-three days max,” Kunz said in explaining why he decided to take 19 gallons of bleach to purify thousands of gallons of potable water.
“We had can openers on one of these missions,” he said. “A lot of people are donating canned goods, and you have to be able to open them.”
A trained mechanical engineer, Kunz typically uses the Mooney to deliver the delicate, high-value parts his company makes directly to his customers, rather than risk damaging them through air-freight or ground shipping. A recent parcel carried a part for a complex spinal procedure.
Like all aviators, Kunz has been eager to share with other pilots some key take-aways about flying relief missions into Helene-ravaged areas. For example, he noted that conditions are extremely difficult in some locations, with no passable roads
“Get the NOTAMs before you take off,” Kunz added. “The NOTAM system is going to be the difference between you being denied or making your mission happen, so be sure to read and understand them. That’s my biggest piece of advice.”
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Volunteer pilots fly for Hurricane Helene relief
Posted By: Haley Davoren, GlobalAir.com
Photo from Operation Airdrop Facebook
The southeastern U.S. is picking up the pieces after Hurricane Helene’s destruction, with over 130 dead and hundreds more unaccounted for, with many stranded after widespread flooding and millions still without power. Aviation organizations, pilots and airports are doing what they can to help, flying in supplies and assistance to those in need.
Hurricane Helene: Airports close as record storm surges hit southeastern U.S.
According to CBS News, Helene has left at least 116 people dead. Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Thursday, making its way through Florida and Georgia before moving further east than forecast and hitting the Carolinas and Tennessee with force. There were 30 deaths in Buncombe County, North Carolina alone, according to CBS News, with the northwest area of the state receiving an astonishing 30.78 inches of rain. Millions are still without power and the path of destruction spans over 600 miles. The storm hit the Carolinas and Tennessee more than anticipated, and many communities still need help. FEMA personnel have been deployed to the region. But some aviation groups and pilots are joining the effort.
OPERATION AIRDROP, an organization that coordinates volunteer pilots and a diverse fleet of aircraft, is mobilizing to help those hit by Helene with a dedicated group of volunteers. The flight staging base is at the Concord Regional Airport and flights began Monday morning. The largest destination is the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) and the group is working to reach additional locations, including remote areas where rotor operations will be crucial. The organization does not provide search and rescue services but delivers essential supplies to many communities impacted by Helene.
The organization is calling for volunteers on the ground and in the air, as well as supplies and monetary donations. Pilots with or without access to an aircraft can volunteer to fly. Ground volunteers are still needed to help at the staging area with packing, organizing and loading supplies for delivery. Operation Airdrop said there are a few rooms for pilots who need overnight stay. Some of the accepted items for donations include diapers, baby formula, powder hydration packs, toothbrushes and toothpaste, pet food, feminine hygiene products, toiletries, cleaning supplies and non-perishable foods. The group cannot accept used clothes, water due to the weight, most chemicals, fuel and flammable items.
Other humanitarian groups, like the Red Cross, are taking trucks with supplies and some are booking flights. According to WECT 6 News, one member of the Port City Aviators Flying Club at the Aero Club adjacent to the Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina sent texts to the group, and soon they were packing up planes and flying to Asheville with supplies, with more planned in the coming days. Volunteers are needed on the ground and in the air. Aviation gives volunteers access to reach those cut off by flood waters, which FEMA will be unable to access immediately. With entire highways destroyed or covered in floodwater, planes allow volunteers to land where roads are not available. Pilot Patrick Artemisio told WECT 6 News that they received 10 times the amount of supplies they had initially anticipated.
Lean how you can get involved with Operation Helene
“If my family, my friends, were out there, what would I want somebody else to do for them?” Artemisio said before flying one of his planes to Asheville. “If they had the ability, what would I want them to do? I have the ability, I have the means, so I’m gonna try to help them out.”
AERObridge Disaster response has flown over 21,000 lbs of supplies through 76 missions as of Monday afternoon. The AERObridge Facebook page is flooded with comments from pilots looking to volunteer to fly and many others looking to donate supplies. They are still looking for volunteers and supplies to bring to the impacted areas.
Check out the AERObridge Amazon wishlist
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General Aviation Groups Step Up For Hurricane Victims
Disasters such as Hurricane Helene are ideal opportunities for GA aircraft operators to jump in and help.
Updated Oct 3, 2024 4:46 AM EDT
Much of the general aviation community has jumped in to offer assistance to victims of Hurricane Helene. Among the organized efforts, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has activated its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) database to reach out to business aviation operators. The HERO program enables NBAA member aircraft operators to supply information on aircraft availability, personnel and other assets that could be of use in an emergency such as the devastating damage caused by this storm.
More than 150 people are confirmed dead, with that figure certain to rise. According to NBAA, insurers and meteorologists have projected that between $15 billion and $100 billion in damages are associated with Hurricane Helene, which made landfall with 140-mph winds on Sept. 26 near Perry, Florida. The storm subsequently moved through Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, causing particular devastation in Ashville, North Carolina, and still unknown damages in more remote, rural areas. It is in those locations where general aviation aircraft are best suited to providing supplies and evacuating injured or sick victims.
Doug Carr, NBAA senior VP of safety, security, sustainability and international operations, said, “Business aircraft have long played an essential role in providing relief for people and communities in need in times of crisis. They are often able to turn roadways into runways, or hillsides into heliports, in order to reach isolated locations. NBAA’s HERO database offers one-stop access to those in business aviation who want to lend a helping hand with their aircraft and other assets.
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NBAA Activates HERO Database to Assist in Southeast Hurricane Helene Relief
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 202-431-5970, dhubbard@abrighamnbaa-org
Washington, DC, Oct. 2, 2024 –The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today announced the activation of its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) database to facilitate the business aviation industry’s mobilization in support of relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which has caused widespread damage to communities across the Southeastern U.S.
The HERO database allows people to enter information about the availability of airplanes, personnel and other assets for relief missions. Information from the database is provided to government agencies and non-government organizations upon request. The database has previously been activated to support relief missions in the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Learn more about the NBAA HERO database, and register aircraft and other assets today.
“Business aircraft have long played an essential role in providing relief for people and communities in need in times of crisis,” noted Doug Carr, NBAA senior vice president, safety, security, sustainability and international operations. “They are often able to turn roadways into runways, or hillsides into heliports, in order to reach isolated locations. NBAA’s HERO database offers one-stop access to those in business aviation who want to lend a helping hand with their aircraft and other assets.”
The damage from Hurricane Helene is extensive, and the need for emergency supplies continues to grow as many communities remain without critical infrastructure, including electricity, water and cellular service.
The storm came ashore Sept. 26 in the Big Bend section of Florida near the city of Perry with 140 mile per hour winds, moving on into parts of Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Insurers and forecasters have projected that catastrophic damage caused by Helene is somewhere between $15 billion and $100 billion.
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Volunteer pilots are flying supplies to trapped Hurricane Helene victims
The relief organization Operation Airdrop said its members have logged nearly 600 “missions” in two days to North Carolina and Tennessee.
Justin Crossie, left, and Gerald Herbert during a flight Thursday from Concord, N.C., to Gatlinburg, Tenn., to deliver supplies. Justin Crossie
Like clockwork, one private plane after another taxied Thursday down the runway of a small regional airport in North Carolina to a hangar, where volunteers loaded them up with food, water, medicine and other badly needed basics.
Thirty or so minutes later, those planes were back in the sky and ferrying supplies from Concord-Padgett Regional Airport to communities across the flooded region, many of them almost completely cut off from the world by Hurricane Helene.
“Yesterday, we were moving so fast we were beating the turnaround times at O’Hare,” said coordinator Shaun Carroll, referring to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. “We were moving.”
Carroll is a member of OPERATION AIRDROP, a relief organization founded after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 that enlists pilots with private planes and helicopters to deliver supplies to people stranded in isolated areas due to natural disasters.
In the past two days, 350 supply flights by fixed-winged planes have taken off from the Concord airport, Carroll said. Another 215 supply flights using helicopters have taken off from Hickory Regional Airport, which is about 60 miles northwest of Concord.
Relief supplies stacked outside a hanger Thursday at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport in Concord, N.C. Justin Crossie
“The amount of supplies that have been donated, the number of pilots who have shown up with their own planes and at their own expense, has been amazing,” said Carroll, 36, of Durham, North Carolina. “Some of the pilots have been flying in with their planes already packed with supplies.”
Pilot Gerald Herbert, 60, who lives outside of New Orleans, said his Cessna 172 four-seater was already packed to the gills Thursday when he landed at Concord.
“I bought everything from baby wipes to underwear to Pop-Tarts and Animal Crackers for the kids,” he said. “I also got flushable sani-wipes, $120-worth of Band-Aids, Benadryl, Advil, you name it.”
A veteran photojournalist who currently works for The Associated Press, Herbert was in Florida last week covering Hurricane Helene when it made landfall and began its march north through Georgia and into the Carolinas.
“I’ve covered at least 20 hurricanes in the last 10 years,” Herbert said. “I had just gotten home and was planning to use this window of time to take a bike trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then this happened.”
Herbert said that as he watched the reports of devastation emerging from western North Carolina, he knew he had to act. He said the region “is dear to my heart,” especially Blowing Rock, a town 110 miles north of Concord, where he and his wife are thinking about retiring.
“When I saw how much damage the storm was doing up here, I just couldn’t sit still. I have a plane, I have the time, I have a credit card. I had to do something,” he said.
Shortly after landing in Concord, Herbert was dispatched on his first Operation Airdrop mission to another hard-hit area, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“I expect to make two to three runs today,” he said.
Relief supplies are packed onto a truck Thursday in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Justin Crossie
Ryan Holt, a 48-year-old anesthesiologist from Niagara, Wisconsin, said he learned of the effort while visiting a website frequented by private pilots.
“Then I started seeing some of the pictures of the devastation in western North Carolina,” he said. “It’s unimaginable.”
Holt, who owns a Cessna 182, said he flew into Concord late Wednesday and was dispatched Thursday to deliver a planeload of supplies to Banner Elk, a remote North Carolina town more than 130 miles north.
“It was some challenging flying,” said Holt, who has flown supply missions for other charity groups. “I landed on a private airstrip that was opened to us by the owner.”
Holt said volunteer pilots are not allowed to fly missions at night for safety reasons.
“But I have to say, this has been such a positive experience,” he said. “The people who organized this operation put their heart and soul into this. It was a total effort on their part. We’re doing something good here.”
Thursday was the fourth straight day at the airport for Carrie Lee, a volunteer who works as a corporate flight attendant. She spent much of the day in a hangar, sorting through supplies destined for delivery.
“Today what was needed was medical supplies, and we had to scramble when we realized we were short,” said Lee, 47, of Cornelius, North Carolina.
Lee said she and two other volunteers got into their cars and raced to the supply drop-off area in in the parking lot of the Concord Walmart. They found what they were looking for, loaded their cars and raced back to the airport to get them onto a plane.
“This can be pretty physical work, so it’s pretty tiring,” she said. “But it’s very satisfying. There’s some good people in this world.”
Helene relief efforts led to about 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina
Story by Kris Van Cleave
mud and debris that’s considered hazardous.
CBS News
Debris from Helene becomes hazardous as storm cleanup continues
There were approximately 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 28, as relief efforts ramped up in response to Hurricane Helene, a federal official briefed on the matter confirmed to CBS News Friday.
The close calls resulted from a spike in aircraft that included planes, helicopters and drones arriving in western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The federal official said the close calls did not involve commercial airline traffic.
Two small airports in the area were so overwhelmed by incoming traffic they ran out of fuel for a period, she added, but that has since been resolved.
The spike in air traffic has resulted in additional requirements being put in place for aircraft entering certain areas of North Carolina in order to meter the flow of air traffic. The FAA has instituted a Prior Permission Required designation, which means pilots and drone operators must get permission to use an airport facility or runway. The PPR is currently in effect at the Asheville Regional Airport and Rutherford County Airport but could be extended to others.
Gallas said in response to the spike, the FAA and NCDOT have co-implemented three mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of an aircraft accident during Helene relief efforts.
The first involves establishing call-in lines at airports for incoming pilots to schedule landing and supply unloading times, as well as scheduling and reserving aircraft parking. The second establishes sky corridors, which are essentially “lanes” for civilian aircraft to use that are separate from the lanes being utilized by military or search and rescue flights. And third is implementing short-term targeted airspace restrictions in areas where multiple search and rescue aircraft are operating.
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