‘Operation Airdrop’: Volunteers take to the skies to deliver disaster aid
Volunteers unload supplies at Jackson County Airport. Nick Breedlove photo
Anyone on the internet knows that it can be a place of negativity and division. But it’s also a powerful tool for connection, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Crystal Cochran harnessed that connection to build a community of volunteers that provided vital assistance to thousands in Western North Carolina.
On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 29, amid region-wide internet and cell outage, before the full extent of the damage from Hurricane Helene became clear, Crystal Cochran saw a post on Facebook.
“A guy that I went to high school with tagged me in a post on Facebook because there were some military friends that have Operation Airdrop,” Cochran said. “They needed somebody on the ground at the airport in Sylva in an hour. I posted it on my Facebook, and I sent a text to the people that I could, cell service was very minimal, but people showed up to come and help me.”
Cochran was born and raised in Sylva. She returned to the area after 15 years away when she lost her husband, a member of the Air Force, in 2016. Cochran is not only a mother and a Gold Star wife but is also the vice president of the Jackson County Veterans Organization.
Those military ties meant Cochran saw the call for help when it was needed, and she was ready to respond within the hour.
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Operation Airdrop was a team effort. Crystal Cochran photo
Operation Airdrop is a Texas-based nonprofit that got its start in 2017 during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a devastating storm that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana resulting in more than 100 deaths.
“A group of about 15 of us got together to organize a general aviation response to the large-scale flooding that happened there to address concerns where small communities were unable to get the supplies they needed immediately following the disaster,” Operation Airdrop Executive Director Alex Clark told The Smoky Mountain News. “That’s generally our mission statement, we try to bridge the gap between when disaster hits to when roads are back open and able to be supplied via the normal means — FEMA, Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, etc.”
Operation Airdrop gets donations from people all over the world and works with volunteer pilots and volunteers on the ground in affected areas. This time around the organization had supply drops open at airports in Concord, Statesville and Hickory.
“We had an outstanding turnout in the local community dropping supplies to our dedicated supply depots there, we also had an incredible outreach, which resulted in a standing number of donations as well from our community worldwide,” said Clark. “So, we were able to use those supplies we gathered plus donations to buy more targeted supplies such as generators, solar inverters, Starlinks, etc., to be able to fly and truck those in.”
According to Clark, Operation Airdrop was running 60 to 80 helicopters a day, plus nearly 680 airplanes that were able to transport supplies to different communities throughout the response to Hurricane Helene.
Those communities in need spanned the mountainous WNC region, but many of the Operation Airdrop planes brought supplies to Jackson County, which, despite flooding and wind damage from Hurricane Helene, escaped the worst of the storm .
“A lot of the airports were closed because of everything going on, so Jackson County was one of the only ones open at the time to be able to get supplies out to those people,” said Cochran.
Private pilots volunteered time and equipment to transport supplies. Crystal Cochran photo
During the height of the supply mission, the Jackson County airport was buzzing with air traffic and volunteer power. On the busiest day, there were 188 takeoffs and landings in just nine hours. This means there was an aircraft operation every two minutes and 52 seconds. For comparison, Asheville Regional Airport averages one flight every six minutes and 30 seconds.
At noon on Monday, Oct. 7, the last day of flights from Operation Airdrop, there had already been 650 flights in just eight days. But even after Operation Airdrop had moved all of its supplies, flight missions by private, volunteer pilots continued through Thursday, Oct. 10. One couple alone made 22 trips to deliver supplies.
Planes came in from across the country, near and far, places like Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Idaho, South Carolina, Connecticut, North Dakota, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts and Texas.
“The pilots loved us and loved this area so much; the national aviation director told me we were the most well organized place that they had been to, and they kept wanting to come back because it was beautiful and the people were so nice to them,” said Cochran.
Everything that was collected and sorted at the Jackson County Airport was then driven and backpacked into areas hardest hit by the disaster. Supplies went out to Avery County, Marshall, Asheville, Swannanoa, Black Mountain and more, in addition to those residents in Jackson County that were in need.
“We sent a big truckload of stuff to the veterans’ home in Black Mountain, the childrens’ home in Black Mountain, a lot of nursing homes in Black Mountain that didn’t have adult diapers or anything like that for their patients,” said Cochran. “We got insulin to some people that really, really needed it.”
The work of receiving supplies, sorting them and getting them out to the places that could use them or distribute them within other communities involved a massive effort from volunteers in Jackson County. At times, there were as many as 250 volunteers on hand at the airport to help.
“To be able to provide for our neighbors that have lost their homes and lost everything and have no water, have no food, have no homes, it’s been incredible,” Cochran said. “To see the people that have shown up to help … I live in Webster, and I have neighbors that I’d never even met until this just kind of brought the community together.”
“Western Carolina students, the baseball team, the softball team, the soccer team came out,” Cochran continued. “Kids were involved, parents were involved, the elderly were involved; everybody that could come show up for us did.”
According to Clark, Operation Airdrop moved over $1.2 million worth of supplies after Hurricane Helene, more than double the largest operation previously. With more supplies coming into the county than could be distributed back out immediately, some supplies are now being stored for when needs arise.
“We formed a medical response team with some people in Cherokee that are going to be able to take out all the medications and use them,” Cochran said. “We’ve got hazmat suits, we’ve got boots, we’ve got blankets for emergency workers.”
Natural disasters unfold in several stages and the conclusion of supply flights to the Jackson County Airport on Thursday, Oct. 10, is just one more indicator that the initial, life-threatening stage of Hurricane Helene is drawing to a close. Now, WNC is embarking on the long road toward recovery.
“The biggest thing is still getting these supplies to people that need them,” Cochran said. “We have a little bit of a stockpile, not a lot, but we have enough so that if somebody is in need, we can still get stuff to them.”
