General aviation pilots have responded to the catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, Texas. The humanitarian effort is coordinated by Operation Airdrop, founded in 2017, with bases at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Museum at Burnet Municipal Airport northeast of Kerrville. The operation also staged out of the Million Air FBO at Addison Airport (KADS) near Dallas.
All donated material, including chainsaws, shovels, mops, brooms, cleaning supplies and N95 masks, are consolidated at BMQ, then distributed by ground vehicles throughout the stricken area. More than 20 GA aircraft, ranging from single-engine pistons to Beech King Air turboprops, had delivered supplies as of Monday afternoon.
Tara Winter, communications director for Operation Airdrop, said, “Our usual response involves planes arriving empty to take supplies to the affected area. However, with Interstate 10 and other roadways in the affected area largely clear, this is kind of opposite of that.”
Steve Hadley, National Business Aviation Association regional programs director, said, “That makes ground-based operations vital at this time. Fortunately, the ability to quickly adapt to the specific mission at hand is a hallmark of this industry, and business aviation operators can still play an important part of this relief effort.”
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