Three million Haitians were affected by last week's earthquake, but in the aftermath successes are measured one life at a time. This evening I was present when Missionary Flights International (MFI) President Dick Snook took a call by satellite phone notifying him that 27 orphans had just boarded an MFI plane in Port-au-Prince and would be arriving in Ft. Pierce, Florida in a few hours, where their new families were flying in from around the country to pick them up. A cheer went up through the facility as staff workers and volunteers heard the news. In a week full of uncertainly where life for some has hung on the slimmest of threads, the phone call proved that volunteers are making a difference and lives are being saved.
My visit to MFI's headquarters and hanger at the Ft. Pierce, Florida airport late Monday was prompted by a comment from a client I flew with on Saturday. He mentioned that he'd like to lend his amphibious Cessna 208 Caravan for the Haiti relief effort if it could be put to good use. Since I was flying to Florida Sunday for a previously planned trip, I decided to find out more about GA's current role in the disaster relief and what additional pilots and aircraft are needed.
MFI is no stranger to Haiti, having operated in the country since 1972. For years, every Tuesday and Thursday, from one to three MFI planes, usually DC-3s, have carried supplies to the country. Now they are running several flights a day to Port-au-Prince in addition to running their other regular flights to the Dominican Republic.
Besides their normal mission of sending cargo and supplies, MFI has begun ferrying people in and out of the country. Their ability to do this has been greatly enhanced by Hendrick Motorsports, which loaned two 45-passenger Saab 2000 aircraft and two flight crews. Hendrick builds race cars and sponsors four race teams on the NASCAR circuit. During the racing season, the aircraft are used to transport team members to and from the races.
On Sunday, Hendrick's planes were used to transport 62 people to Haiti to assist in the relief effort while evacuating 25 people. On Monday, they transported 69 passengers to Haiti and evacuated 80 more people, including the 27 orphan children. According to one staff member, a church in Titusville, Florida has been involved for three years trying to arrange the adoptions. The government paperwork for approving the adoptions was moving slowly but suddenly got approved after last week's quake and the orphans were cleared to leave the country for their new homes in the U.S. Families as far away as Arizona have been notified to come to Ft. Pierce to meet their newly adopted children.
Since the earthquake occurred last week, MFI has already shipped 94,000 pounds of food, medicine and other relief supplies including water purification tablets and tarps. That's remarkable when you consider that MFI's primary workhorses are a pair of DC-3s that carry approximately 7,000 pounds each. As of Monday evening, MFI had 150,000 pounds of donated supplies palletized and ready for shipment. On Tuesday, a privately owned C-130 transport will fly a single trip for MFI and then a DC-4 will become available for 7 or 8 days of flights.
Photo: MFI President Dick Snook (far right) updating volunteers about orphans on Monday evening's flight.
When I asked Dick Snook what MFI needs most right now he instantly replied "a C-130". As he explained, there's only a single runway at the Port-au-Prince Airport and thus a limited number of landing slots. MFI has a few of those slots and needs to maximize the amount of cargo and people they can move with each slot. Depending upon the model, a C-130 can carry approximately 40,000 pounds of cargo. Based on the number of people I saw dropping off donated goods at the MFI hanger, I have no doubt that they could keep a C-130 fully utilized for weeks to come. One staffer also mentioned that the group would like to buy another turbine powered DC-3 for $1.3 million, but lacks the funds to purchase the plane. You can find a list of most needed items and drop-off points here and a form for donating money for aircraft fuel and other resources here.
More GA Activity in Haiti
On Friday, a Cessna 208 Caravan was sent to Haiti to bring back a group of Atlanta-based missionaries from La Ganove, an island north of Port-au-Prince. The day before, the group of 11 sent a text message to David Lee, president and co-founder of Air Share Elite, asking for help getting out. Lee sent a message to a list of Cessna Caravan owners in the Southeast and the owners of Grey Air in Shalimar, FL volunteered to make the flight. The company credited Senator Saxby Chambliss for help in assuring that the group cleared U.S. Customs in West Palm Beach before they were taken home to Atlanta. MFI is also using a Caravan on loan from Preferred Airparts.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Jerry and Susan Lowenstein, of Pompano Beach, who've waited 6 years to adopt a Haitian child, will fly their Cessna to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to pick up their now 7-year old adopted daughter. They have an 11 AM landing slot and are only permitted to remain for 2 hours on the cramped ramp parking . During that time, they need to drive at least 20 minutes to the American Embassy to sign paperwork and pick up their daughter.
Volunteering
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is taking the lead role in identifying GA aircraft and pilots available to assist in the relief effort. At the request of the Critical Incident Management Group (CIMG) at the Department of Homeland Security, NBAA has set up a web page forms where aircraft owners and pilots can volunteer. According to the Wichita Business Journal, Cessna and Bombardier are contacting aircraft owners and operators to make them aware of the NBAA web site.
EAA and AOPA have made appeals to their members. AOPA's Craig Fuller sent out a message to members last week encouraging them to donate an hours worth of flight time to several groups in a list that included MFI. EAA has posted a story regarding the response by Mission Aviation Fellowship, a group which exhibited at AirVenture 2009 in Oshkosh, and has provided a link where donations can be made.
Whether you send a cellphone text message to the number 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross, donate needed items, volunteer your aircraft or your pilot skills, you can make a difference. Haiti is likely to remain a disaster area for many months after it inevitably falls prey to the 24-hour news cycle that is always looking for a new story. Do what you can now. Then do what you can again in a month or two when the story has been forgotten. Remember that successes are measured one life at a time and you can make a difference. So do something now.
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