Operation Airdrop says it exists outside the realm of government "to respond swiftly and effectively in times of crisis" and to ensure "that essential supplies reach those in need when traditional ground support is compromised."
In lieu of FEMA and other government rescue operations that seem to be few and far between due to politics, Heavin is using his Bell 505 helicopter to traverse otherwise unwelcoming and inaccessible terrain to help stranded victims.
At each deployment, Heavin is given a set of coordinates along with a mission that beyond rescues also involves dropping much-needed supplies like food, water and medicine in areas that are now completely cut off from the rest of the world.
When this all started, there were more than 50 private helicopters, Heavin's included, that were operating out of the Hickory home base. All of them were run by volunteers who made trips to various community fire stations to distribute supplies to those in need, all without pay.
"It was a thing of beauty," Heavin told the media. "People were able to communicate and get out where they needed to be, rescuing those who were trapped."
(Related: Tampa, Fla., mayor Jane Castor issued a dire warning to residents this week that they had better flee the area or else they will die once Hurricane Milton arrives.)
"Thousands of stories" of people still in need
Every day, each helicopter would run about four missions each, altogether totaling around 10 hours in length, seven of those being time spent flying in the helicopter. Heavin says he has never done anything like this, but seeing Helene's devastation and the lack of government aid caused him to take an interest in being a good Samaritan.
Heavin has helped with hurricane relief efforts in the past, though. He helped out with Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and a few years after that he was helping with Haiti's earthquake relief efforts in 2021.
Hurricane Helene seems to be his biggest challenge yet as it caused catastrophic damage to an area that many people overlooked because of its inland, mountainous geography. All in all, Helene dumped 40 trillion gallons of water in a matter of about six days, not to mention wind speeds that reached as high as 140 mph.
According to Heavin, there are thousands of stories he has heard about with people needing everything from insulin for their diabetes treatments to EpiPens (epinephrine) that ward off an anaphylactic shock reaction caused by bee and wasp stings.
In one instance, Heavin was able to rescue a heart patient in desperate need of medical care, along with her dog, by landing in the woman's backyard. Would FEMA ever do something like that?
In another case, Heavin rescued a cancer patient who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time when Helene struck. Thanks to the diligent efforts of Heavin and other private volunteers, the woman was safely brought back to an airport where a hanger had been specially outfit as a temporary medical clinic.
While we certainly need public services, emergency and otherwise, it sure is nice that western North Carolinians have people like Heavin on the ground to provide additional assistance.
"It's a reminder that the government is a bureaucracy," Heavin said, gracefully, about the troubles with government aid for Helene victims. "It's slow, inefficient, and broke."
More related news coverage can be found at Disaster.news.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
