The JAARS helicopter flew a number of information-gathering flights, following remote roads to where they now abruptly ended from being washed out or blocked. Past that point, crews identified isolated regions and landed to determine what people needed.
Diedrich recounts, “The people who live in those parts of the mountains are just so resilient, thoughtful and caring. So many times, we would land in a place and they would say, ‘We’re doing OK; we’re taking care of each other. Find somebody who needs it more than us.’ That was really incredible to see how those people pulled together in community. Over the years, JAARS has been so blessed by the people in the town of Spruce Pine and in the Avery County Airport area. To be able to help them in a small way in their hour of need was really the least we could do, but we were blessed to have the equipment and capability to help in a tangible way.”
Collecting information for the database of affected areas, delivering food and water supplies, and positioning rescue teams in strategic locations were benefits of the rotorcraft’s capabilities. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, it was a natural extension of JAARS global operations to perform such flights.
rotorpro.com
59
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83
