Civil Air Patrol
The Civil Air Patrol’s Louisiana wing is helping state agencies respond to this week’s flooding disaster with aerial photos of the region. The wing set up a command post at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport and is using its Cessna 182s and 172s for reconnaissance, capturing images for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “We have nine aircraft assigned to the Louisiana wing, they’re all working and all flying at one time or another,” CAP Lieutenant Col. Amos A. Plante told AVweb. By Wednesday the CAP had already taken more than 3,000 photos to help responders assess flood damage and focus recovery efforts.
Each Cessna flies with a pilot, observer and cameraman on board in an assigned area and also reports to law enforcement if they see anything requiring rescue response, he said. While the Baton Rouge airport near the city center is unaffected by the floods, most of the CAP flights have been dispatched to the east and southeast of the city. “I’ve never seen one like this,” said Plante, a 30-year state resident. “It’s been called the flood of the century.” The CAP says the wing expects to continue its work in the coming days and as long as the state needs it, as some areas are still under threat of heavy flooding. Meanwhile, a previously scheduled visit from Air Force officers will take place at KBTR Saturday as part of wing evaluations conducted every four years. The event will combine the Air Force’s normal testing exercises along with observations of the flood-related missions.
