When Hurricane Ian crashed into Florida Sept. 28, 2022, the Category 4 storm — the deadliest hurricane to hit the state since 1935 — destroyed the bridge from Pine Island to the mainland, leaving residents stranded.
General aviation pilots were among the first responders to the island, bring much needed supplies.
Those pilots are volunteers with Operation Airdrop, which responds immediately when disaster strikes.
“After Ian we delivered over 25,000 pounds of much-needed relief supplies to Pine Island and Fort Myers,” recalls Robert Johnson, a board member of Dallas-based Operation Airdrop and a pilot with more than 30 years of experience. “I was on board one of the first planes to reach Pine Island, and it’s hard to describe the relief and joy that our supplies brought the local community.”
He notes the volunteer pilots delivered the items most requested by the island’s residents, including food, water, diapers, baby formula, batteries, generator oil, and more.
Operation Airdrop was formed in 2017, after Hurricane Harvey — another Category 4 hurricane — devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana.
According to Johnson, the more than 2,000 volunteer pilots with Operation Airdrop usually activate for hurricanes, “but we fly anytime there’s a need.”
“Using aircraft makes the most sense when either road infrastructure is compromised or where speed is of the essence,” he adds.
The volunteers fly all types of airplanes, from homebuilts to “heavier turbine equipment,” he says.
“We have no restrictions on the type of airplane that we can use, but since we’re generally flying cargo the smallest airplanes can be mission limited,” he explains.
There’s no typical deployment after disaster strikes, with the group’s leaders calling up pilots as they are needed.
For instance, more than 300 pilots responded after Hurricane Harvey. During Hurricane Ian, there were 30 pilots flying a variety of aircraft, including a Kodiak, Caravan, and a King Air.
The decision on when to deploy is up to the organization’s leaders.
“For example, when it looked like Ian was going to hit Florida, we had daily conference calls to determine if there was a need for us to deploy and where we should base our operations,” Johnson explains.
They chose Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM) in Orlando as their base for Ian. There were two members of the staff, who are also volunteers, and two board members on the ground to help coordinate flying, as well as several ground volunteers, he reports.
While sometimes the group’s leaders only put out a regional call for volunteers — for missions that are more limited in scope — there are times when there is a full-scale deployment, he says.
“We’ll call up our entire network and often will have pilots coming in from all corners of the U.S.,” he says. “People, especially pilots it seems, want to help and it’s always heartwarming to see the response when we put out a call for volunteers.”
Secret Sauce
Operation Airdrop pilots just don’t show up and leave supplies at an airport. The efforts are much more coordinated than that.
“One of our ‘secret sauces’ is that we work very closely with other organizations, such as the Salvation Army, Operation BBQ Relief, the Cajun Navy, and others to evaluate the ground needs,” Johnson says. “We will never simply fly supplies to an airport and drop them off without a dedicated ‘catcher’ on the ground who has a defined need and will distribute whatever we deliver.”
He notes that if a partner organization requests help, the group’s leaders evaluate that need and see if it’s a good use of general aviation assets.
“For example, during Hurricane Ida in 2021 in Louisiana we partnered with Operation BBQ Relief to transport over 15,000 hot meals,” he says. “Their cook site was set up in Hammond, Louisiana, and there was a need to get meals down to Houma. Their hots meals have a relatively short shelf life for food safety reasons, so our ability to transport the meals quickly to Houma allowed that area to be served.”
The volunteer pilots just don’t fly supplies. Sometimes they fly people.
“During Harvey we transported Salvation Army staff, and for Ian we were able to help a team with portable desalination plants from World Hope International to get into the Fort Myers area,” he says.
The group’s very first deployment during Hurricane Harvey is still its largest.
“Harvey was undoubtedly the largest use of GA aircraft ever for disaster relief flying,” Johnson says. “We estimate over 250,000 pounds of supplies were delivered to the affected areas.”
“One of the most impactful missions I personally flew during Harvey was a request to transport four small refrigerators to Orange, Texas, which had all road service cut off. Later that evening there was a flight of insulin being delivered and we needed to get the refrigerators there so they could have cold storage for the medicine.”
The volunteer pilots cover all the costs of flight when they are deployed, including fuel.
“We would love to be able to help with fuel costs, but unfortunately the FAA won’t allow that,” Johnson notes. “We will provide tax donations forms, however.”
Want to Help?
It’s easy to get involved with Operation Airdrop. All you have to do is fill out a simple form online. The form includes a place where you can show where you are interested in helping, including Donating, Volunteering, Flying (Pilot Only), Flying (Pilot With Aircraft), and On Site Volunteering.
Want to help but can’t volunteer? You can donate directly to the all-volunteer organization with donations starting at $10.
