Dan

We all want to help but this is not as easy as it sounds. We have been getting reports that many of the airports in the area were flooded and are still very muddy. Big tire aircraft only. You need lots of fuel on board as most of the airports still do not have electricity and the fuel pumps are not working. The weather in the mountains requires high levels of vigilance as fog can form very quickly due to the wet ground. Get all the info you can and be aware that flights in the area are pretty dicey. I don’t want to discourage anyone from helping but just go in with heads up and eyes wide open.

2 replies

Aviatrexx

Roger that, Dan. Reports I’m getting from friends trapped up there confirm this. Even my favorite one-way private grass strip on the top of a mountain near the Blue Ridge Parkway, reports that it’s still pretty soggy, making roll-out dicey, and take-off more so. Furthermore, most of the secondary roads are blocked by tree-falls, land-slides, and bridge wash-outs, so flying to an airstrip is the least of the challenges of getting aid to the area. This is really a job for choppers, but mine doesn’t have the endurance to make the round-trip, or the cargo capacity to be worthwhile.

If you’ve never participated in a disaster relief operation in mountainous terrain, this is probably not the best one to start with.

David_Steere

Thank you. Great information!

botajet

Great stuff, so critically needed right now in this unprecedented crisis. Just shared your info with my NetJets Pilots and Flight Attendants FB page. Hopefully get some takers.

Bert Botta

Jetjock12

One thing that I would bear in mind is when the weather lifts, there will search and rescue aircraft flying the mountains in Tennessee recording the damage and conditions for TNDOT. Please do not fly in those areas because a lot of pilots are not experienced in this kind of operations vs the crews that are. As the operations officer running the operations, I would request that you stay away from these areas as you will be comprising the safety of my aircrews. I understand the reasons behind these kind of operations but we will be on official missions for the State of Tennessee. Thank you.

Roy

1 reply

Kurt62

You guys should get a 0-2000 ft TFR for your operations area. It should be relatively easy and quick under the circumstances.