By William Garvey
Dassault Falcon Jet’s 900EX EASy demonstrator flew a medical team from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to Cap-Haitien International Airport in northern Haiti yesterday as a part of business aviation’s response to the aftermath of the earthquake there.
The team consisted of two doctors, two first responders, five nurses and two nurse practitioners, along with medical supplies.
“We know of at least eight Falcon operators among the numerous missions that have flown into Haiti,” said John Rosanvallon, Dassault Falcon president and CEO. “We applaud the efforts of the business aviation community to provide whatever assistance necessary.”
As with much of the business aviation community’s response to the crisis, yesterday’s Falcon flight was arranged by Corporate Aviation Responding to Emergencies (CARE), a volunteer group created by business aviation operators in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“The support from the business aviation community has been amazing,” said Maryanne Stevenson, president of CARE, who said her organization “is on a pace to launch one flight to Haiti every 30 minutes.”
The National Business Aviation Assn. (NBAA) today reported that nearly 100 general aviation aircraft on humanitarian missions flew from the U.S. to the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince in just the first five days after a local airport re-opened to humanitarian flights. During the two-day weekend after the airport re-opened, the U.S. military and the Federal Aviation Administration reported that 330 requests to land had been approved, with nearly half coming from civilian aircraft.
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said, “The business aviation community has always snapped into action to help people and communities in times of crisis, and we are heartened by the outpouring of support from people across the industry who are eager to assist in efforts to help those impacted by the Haiti earthquake.”
Source: AVIATION WEEK
Date: 2010-01-21