-- HURRICANE GUSTAV and prior KATRINA AND RITA RELIEF - TSUNAMI RELIEF - 9/11 RELIEF --

General Aviation Disaster Relief Information:

The following information provides guidance on how to help.  Please read it thoroughly and watch for updates, below, on our main page, and on AOPA's. 

Volunteer Pilots - download and read the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Guide described below.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW AND WHAT WE LEARNED IN THE  AFTERMATH OF THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS:   

Started on September 12, 2001 and last updated August, 2008

We received many inquiries from individuals and groups about how they could help following 9/11.  We were not intially aware of a large call then for general aviation services for disaster relief, although some groups were being called upon to transport blood or fly other missions, using the LifeGuard authorizations.  Demand picked up quickly and ultimately several hundred missions were flown by volunteer pilots over a two week period.

During and following hurricanes  there will likely be a more widespread call for help transporting emergency workers, supplies, or evacuees.

If you wish to help in a current or some future crisis please consider the following guidelines:

First, regarding general aviation participation, please work directly with your own flying organizations to contribute in any pre-arranged efforts coordinated by their local emergency planning agencies. Many volunteer pilot public benefit flying groups will have an emergency services coordinator who can provide information.  The Civil Air Patrol will be very involved in providing its resources in response to this situation, too.  Pilots for Patients in Louisiana has also put out a call for help - see the note below.

AOPA has collected much useful information for pilots flying relief missions or needing to fly into the affected areas. We expect AOPA to publish updated information regularly, so keep an eye on www.aopa.org  

AVweb has also presented good coverage and useful information on their NewsWire pages found at www.AVweb.com

Individuals should avoid inundating overburdened emergency service workers with calls during emergencies, especially in the affected areas. Try to get your information first from your own groups or from public sources such as local news announcements, especially from local FEMA offices or local emergency management agencies. See the FEMA "How You Can Help" page. Also see the note about FEMA below.

During the first days of 9/11 the Red Cross coordinated a blood drive, with certain types especially needed. If you are interested, call your local Red Cross chapter or 1 800 GIVE LIFE or 1 888 BLOOD-88 or do a search for a Red Cross web site serving your area. Another source for suggestions on aiding those in need is Helping.Org - see their useful "You Can Help" page.

If you wish to volunteer your services as a pilot or other volunteer to an aviation organization, please see the complete list of volunteer flying organizations maintained by the Air Care Alliance at http://www.aircareall.org/listings.htm - on the Listings page on this site.  Contact groups in your area directly, using the information in the listings.

Many of these groups have emergency service or medical transport programs which may be operating.  During the 9/11 emergency when airspace was closed the blood missions were being flown utilizing the "LifeGuard" call sign flight procedures designated by FAA.  As airspace reopened routine transport missions were flown utilizing the ACA "Compassion" call sign procedures published on this site.  Some Angel Flight groups also used the "Angel Flight" call sign, with procedures derived from the ACA's Compassion procedures.  Grace flight of Texas also has a dedicated call sign for their operations.

ALSO - if you can fly in the affected areas and are not affiliated with a group already, Philip Thomas, President of Pilots for Patents in Louisiana, has asked potential volunteer pilots to email him their information including name, aircraft, capabilities, cell phone number, and other contact information, for possible mission assignments.  Email Phil at

  pfp@pilotsforpatients.org 

FEMA has issued a request that volunteers or those with resources to register on their system - see the link below.

Please note, however, that during an emergency FEMA tends to be overloaded with offers of help. Most who are actually asked to fly missions do so through the various flying organizations in our listings, or for local agencies and social service organizations.  Thus we urge you to volunteer and fly with them.  Please investigate a number of organizations flying in your area and offer your help to them.

Quite often pilots will find that they can perform missions for their local social service agencies or nonprofit groups in order to help others, and that they can fly into airports that are not restricted.  Do follow all pertinent NOTAMS and check the sites above for additional information before flying.

SAFETY FIRST !  Do not allow the urgency of the situation to compromise safety.  In fact, pilots should add an extra margin to their own personal minimums to compensate for the pressure to be of help.  The AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the Air Care Alliance collaborated to present safety recommendations for volunteer pilots in the AOPA ASF Guide - "Volunteer Pilots - Recommendations for Enhanced Safety."  Obtain a PDF copy of the guide by clicking this link: AOPA ASF Volunteer Pilot Safety Guide.

For those organizations such as volunteer pilot organizations, clubs, and airport associations wishing to help, EVAC has much useful information including a sample emergency operations guide, on its site at www.evac.org.

We will update this information periodically so please keep an eye on our site.

Whenever possible please call the listed groups directly to offer your assistance. Pilots who wish to contact the Air Care Alliance directly should use this email address:

relief@aircareall.org 

Please do not call our help line except for an emergency or to get help finding a group to transport a patient or perform another service.

Prior bulletins that may still be in effect:

Bulletin September 6, 2005:  we were asked to post this special notice from Homeland Security:

"All airlines, pilots, helicopter, cargo company's desiring to participate in the evacuation, relief, reconstitution, and special needs areas are asked to register with FEMA National Emergency Resource Registry. Here's the contact information:

   https://www.swern.gov  use the website to register online
   Phone: 800-440-6728

Thank you for your assistance."

  Charlton C. English
  Sr. Infrastructure/Threat Coordinator - Aviation Sector
  U.S. Department of Homeland Security HQ/IAIP/ICD/ICAO

Bulletin August 30,2005: FAA has published via NOTAM the following numbers:

     Disaster relief permission number 504-463-1000
 
     Permission for emergency flights 703-904-4547