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Hurricane Katrina and Aviation
Three aspects of the saga bear mention:
The airport. It took a couple days for the floodwaters to recede from New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY), enabling it to be used to fly relief supplies in and evacuees out, but it could have been worse. A year ago, the choice was between upgrading and refurbishing the passenger terminal, or spending $83 million to repave and modernize the runways. |
The money went to the runway project. "We didn't have a crystal ball, but we'd known the runways' elevation had to be raised," said MSY's Mario Rodriquez. He's the deputy director of planning and development at MSY. In a newspaper interview, he said the runway work involved taking out the old concrete and asphalt, installing polystyrene sections to address settlement, and pouring new concrete to raise the runway elevations about 18 inches. "It made the difference; the runways stayed dry," Rodriquez said.
The airplanes. In what was billed as the largest domestic airlift in U.S. history, the airlines have been flying evacuees out of MSY to various locations around the country. For example, Texas-based American Airlines has flown people from New Orleans to Lackland AFB in Texas. An American official said, "These are voluntary crews, so we are only charging FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] or state for our direct costs, which is essentially fuel."
However, according to other sources, the situation at MSY left much to be desired. One aircraft was on the taxiway so long that it had to go to Shreveport, Miss., to refuel before it could go to San Antonio.
The helicopters. Our colleague Jim McKenna, editor of sister publication Rotor & Wing magazine, has written an op-ed which is scheduled to appear the week of Sept. 12 in the USA Today newspaper. Below, an abbreviated version:
"In recounting the devastation wreaked on the U.S. Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, one radio correspondent observed that people don't give a second thought to the sound of a helicopter passing overhead until after a disaster like this. Sadly, that's as true for emergency-management leaders as it is for the general public.
"Each year, natural and man-made large-scale disasters in the U.S. and around the world silence regular and emergency communications, destroy road and highway networks and shut airfields and maritime ports--the very things on which emergency-response and disaster-management plans are built. In such circumstances, helicopters are essential tools--often the only ones available -- for grasping the scope of a disaster, spotting the most distressed victims, conveying that information to response managers and bringing victims rescue or relief.
"But helicopters too often are an impromptu and overwhelmed part of emergency-response plans. We've seen U.S. government choppers in action in Katrina's wake. But there were too few of them right from the start to effectively triage the problem so limited response resources could be put to the best use.
"Two things are needed after this and any similar disaster: more helicopters and a plan for using them. The sad thing is that plenty of helicopters are available, but emergency responders don't know that and therefore don't use them. The Gulf Coast, for instance, probably has more private and commercial helicopters than any place else in the U.S. except the North East. They're essential to ferrying crews to and from Gulf of Mexico oil and gas rigs.
"For four years, helicopter trade groups have tried to work with the Department of Homeland Security to develop tools for emergency managers to identify what private helicopters are available, where they are and what they can do (perform rescues, transport medical patients or just carry passengers and supplies) and then put them to use. The department's plans still don't include such tools. It was days after the levees broke in New Orleans before FEMA even attempted a coordinated effort to use the private helicopters at its disposal.
"The private and commercial helicopter owners, for their part, put their own people and aircraft at risk. They have no assurance that they will be covered if an aircraft is damaged or destroyed during relief operations, let alone that they'll be compensated for the fuel they use. Katrina should be the last time we tolerate this. State and local governments and the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. must come together with helicopter operators around the country. They must nail down what aircraft and crews are available and how specifically they can help after a disaster. Do background checks on the crews if necessary; deputize them if we must. Ensure that they and the aircraft they fly are covered by federal insurance and fuel programs as long as they aid in relief. But do not allow them to go unused while thousands suffer too much for too long." |
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