The Rescue of Helene Survivors in NC Was a Private Undertaking

The rescue operation was an unpaid entrepreneurial mission, Operation Airdrop, by private helicopter pilots using their own equipment. Here is an interview with one participant:
Helicopter Pilot Undertakes Rescue Mission: Untitled 102

Present Perfect: Findi... Boyd, Gregory A. Check Amazon for Pricing. FEMA, federal agencies and state resources were late to the event and mostly an impediment when they did arrive. Generally, local officials were welcoming and appreciative of the private rescue operation. However, some pilots were threatened with arrest and ordered out of the area. I spoke to one pilot who faced arrest on two occasions because having to land in limited spaces “endangered nearby people.” It seems some authorities misinterpreted rescue as endangerment.

In another incident, a nursing home with 20 patients, 2 of whom were critical, needed an emergency evacuation. An air national guard Blackhawk helicopter was asked to perform the mission but the pilot refused, stating “rescuing people is not our mission.” A National Guard Colonel who just happened to be on site for other reasons, overheard the conversation and intervened with his own orders. The rescue mission was accomplished.

An explanation a pilot gave me is that government is bureaucracy and the bureaucratic mind is afraid to make a decision, yet still wants to exercise control over the situation. One consequence was the Starlink systems, sent in by Elon Musk to be delivered to local fire departments in order to be able to establish communication in the impacted area, were confiscated by FEMA and carried off. So were donated supplies.

FEMA is bragging on having spent some $200 million — a small fraction of US aid to Israel and Ukraine — on the rescue. It seems the money largely went to paying FEMA personnel.

Rep. Jack Kemp had a joke that he used often. The three biggest lies in history: Your check is in the mail. Of course I will respect you in the morning. I am from the government and I am here to help you.

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