Mike Wolanin | The Republic Pilot Jeff Anderson, from left, Keith Huff, and Kurt Engelking load Anderson’s plane with hurricane relief supplies at Columbus Municipal Airport in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Relief efforts were organized by Civilian Crisis Response Team. Supplies were dropped off at the airport and flown to area impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The generosity and concern by local community members was apparent last week when the call went out from an Edinburgh group hoping to transport relief supplies to hard-hit North Carolina.
It was a double request — donations from the community for specific items needed at the hurricane-ravaged and flooded damage zones in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene — and also for pilots to fly the supplies from Columbus Municipal Airport to the disaster zones.
All this while federal officials continue a massive rescue operation to try to locate hundreds of missing individuals and transporting those without shelter or food to safer locations.
Almost as soon as the items, such as all sizes of tarps, baby formula, toilet paper, paper plates, plastic silverware, ready to eat packaged food and more, were being stockpiled at the Columbus Municipal Airport, the pilots and their planes began to arrive.
They ranged from Rep. Mike Speedy, R-Indianapolis, who was one of the first pilots to respond, to a $3 million Cirrus Vision SF50 private jet owned by a Dayton, Ohio resident who detoured her pilot from bringing home the newly painted plane to instead travel to Columbus to pick up supplies and move them to North Carolina.
As of mid-week, more than 90 aircraft had committed to using their own aircraft to deliver emergency supplies at their own cost and time, airport officials said. More transports will be taking place in the days ahead, according to the Civilian Crisis Response Team, the Edinburgh-founded group,made up of about 2,000 volunteers in 19 states, that is coordinating the relief effort.
Donors of supplies ranged from employees and customers of Columbus Auto Group to churches, nonprofits and individuals. And airport officials said the donations increased after multiple news outlets reported on the groundswell of volunteer pilots arriving in Columbus to transport items.
It’s nice to know we live in a community that is sending thoughts and prayers, but also thousands of pounds of food, baby formula, paper products, tarps and more to help with recovery for people we don’t know, but still care deeply about, hoping to ease their suffering.
And we thank the pilots who are stopping by Columbus to help with this effort and help the Columbus community send our support to our neighbors in North Carolina.
