After Hurricane Katrina ripped across the gulf coast of the
U.S. on August 29, NBAA member companies, with NBAA headquarters support,
mobilized individual relief efforts that brought in more than 65 tons of
supplies to the area and airlifted out hundreds of devastated citizens in the
first two weeks after the disaster.
Supporting the membership was an NBAA staff that quickly
developed a line of communication and information to help members find out
when, where and why types of help were needed. Among the aids the NBAA created
was a Web-based asset registration database that the organization shared with
government and civilian relief agencies. By mid-September, the database
contained 175 aircraft. The NBAA also provided members interested in helping
out with situation reports provided by the Department of Homeland Security and
the FAA. On the website were also links to the American Red Cross, FEMA and
others to help members donate money, volunteer services and company assets. The
NBAA also developed a Hurricane Katrina Air Mail Listserv, to which more than
100 people registered to get the latest news on relief-related activities.
Employees of NBAA member Applera, a biotechnology company,
received an e-mail through the NBAA listserv on Friday, September 2—Angel
Flight, a nonprofit organization that coordinates free transportation on
private aircraft for patients who can't afford to fly on a commercial carrier,
was asking for airplanes to get people with medical problems out of the flooded
New Orleans area.
After getting the corporate go-ahead that night, Applera
chief pilot Doug Schultz began coordinating with federal officials and Angel
Flight to help out. In order to double the value of the trip, Applera's
Marianne Stevenson contacted local church shelters in the impacted area to find
out what supplies were running low. Applera's Challenger 601 then flew to Baton
Rouge and dropped off 3,000 pounds of water and food before picking up 10
passengers bound for the Dream Center, a shelter in Los Angeles that was working
to relocate families with children that have special needs. In all, Applera
made three flights to the area with the Challenger, and the company, via the
NBAA network, helped coordinate a total of 62 other flights carrying 180,000
pounds of supplies in and 630 passengers out.
According to the NBAA, other member companies and people who
helped out included the following:
Jetfinity Catering, based in Foster City, Calif., provided
relief supplies for Applera to transport to Baton Rouge.
Noel Fournier with Vjet Corp., a full-service aircraft
charter/management company based in Burbank, spent two weeks coordinating
relief flights.
Employees with two NBAA companies coordinated the donation
of a 737 to pick up evacuees in Baton Rouge for delivery to the Dream Center.
On the inbound leg to Baton Rouge, the 737 was loaded with about 20,000 pounds
of supplies.
Paula Kraft with NBAA member Tastefully Yours Catering
coordinated with FBOs and company flight departments at the airport and other
companies to supply an emergency shelter in Cobb County, Ga., for Katrina
evacuees.
HCA, Inc., a hospital company, coordinated a rescue
operation in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath, airlifting 200 patients
and 1,200 HCA staff members to safety using 20 chartered helicopters.
MedAire, provider of medical and health services to remote
travelers all over the world, made a special telephone number for its Global
Response Center available to companies within those industries that were
sending people into Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi for relief
operations. The number could be used to access medical advice at no cost.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen was quite pleased with the
immediate response from his members, saying, "Some have flown relief missions,
but many have been volunteering a lot of money."
Equally important, he says, NBAA members haven't forgotten
about New Orleans as time goes by. In late October he gave a talk at the Ohio
Regional Business Aviation Association and was approached afterward by Hal Shevers,
founder of Sporty's Pilot Shop. Shevers said he had been "very pleased" with
the NBAA's response to Katrina and committed to make a $10,000 donation to the
organization's continuing efforts. "Relief efforts continue to happen," says
Bolen. "The comments by Shevers speak volumes about this industry."
The NBAA plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from the
convention to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and will give attendees the chance
to donate during registration this week.
