Carolina Pilots Rally to Get Supplies to Neighbors Devastated by Hurricane Helene

Oct. 17, 2024

Business aviation pilots have long been recognized as first responders from the sky, delivering supplies to stricken areas in the aftermath of natural disasters. The impetus for relief missions in times of crisis is underscored when the impacted area is your home state, and the people you’re helping are your neighbors, friends and family members.

Such was the case for the pilots associated with the non-profit Carolina Aviators Network (CAN), including aviator Stephen Linson, the organization’s communications director, when it came to the group’s recent relief missions to help Tarheel State towns devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Normally, CAN serves its aviator membership as a networking and peer-learning organization; “but, in a situation like this, the group’s mission becomes personal,” Linson said.

Linson and CAN coordinated an all-hands effort, using social media and other communication tools to mobilize airport officials, volunteers, ground-delivery drivers and others to ensure emergency supplies quickly reached people who needed them. The result was a capability somewhat akin to a relief agency, complete with statewide non-profit status and ready to deliver all manner of necessities.

“Anything you can imagine,” Linson said. “A lot of water and drinking supplies. Paper products. Camping gear. Survival tools. We also flew a lot of different medications into affected areas.”

The crisis missions delivering the essentials were coordinated from a makeshift triage area set up by the group, with a record-keeping system that was decidedly low-tech, but highly effective.

“We were using a big, old-fashioned whiteboard,” Linson said. “We listed out the airports, the runway lengths, the altitudes, and the available supplies to match the demands.” The white board even had a Pilot Reports, or PIREPS section, for volunteer aviators to report filed conditions, or updates on relief being delivered by FEMA or other organizations.

Across a nine-day period, the ad hoc relief group worked from Statesville Regional Airport (SVH), to conduct 680 flights, move 342,225 pounds of cargo by air, dispatch 375 truckloads weighing just over two million pounds, and service approximately 25 airports in affected towns and communities.

Looking to the future, Linson says Hurricane Helene will be a defining moment for the organization. CAN will always be devoted to fostering a community of aviators, but the hurricane also provided an opportunity to assist in future natural disasters, even those that take place far from home.

“We are going to put together a side division for CAN that focuses on relief efforts,” Linson said. “We’ll develop a comprehensive course of action for the future, so we can make a difference.”