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United States Pilots Association |
I have watched with great interest the many individuals and organizations offering support to hurricane victims, and have participated individually by contributing cash through my Rotary Club and other organizations, as well as providing accommodations in my home beginning before the hurricane struck our Gulf Coast. USPA as well as done its part by remaining a ready resource to FEMA to provide our member planes and pilots to serve as part of an ordered plan, to carry people and/or supplies in and out of the afflicted areas. And yet, USPA has not been called.
I find that offers of many other organizations and individuals have also been declined, and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars have been expended toward preparing such help, only to be told they will not be needed.
When I was President of the Missouri Pilots Association in 1991, I organized an official plan for MPA’s emergency response, which was accepted by SEMA into their state emergency plan, including flying search and rescue dogs to Omaha, NE, where they would be flown by government transportation to the affected areas. Then, Paul Hough (who was Emergency Management Director for Stone County, MO, and a SEMA instructor) and I brought the plan to USPA, who adopted it for their participation, and which was ultimately accepted by FEMA as an emergency resource. We have several trained members, have done exercises with Emergency Management and other officials, and have a call-up list at our disposal, ready to assist as a part of an organized plan.
Although USPA has officially been a listed resource for many years, we have never been called. They have utilized the CAP and National Guard, as rightly they should, but have never incorporated our small planes into their efforts. Some organizations have “done their own thing” in spite of FEMA, and have managed to contribute largely for the benefit of those suffering. But USPA, not in existence solely for the purpose of emergency relief, believes we should wait to be called, to be part of an organized plan, so that we are assured we will be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. I’m not saying that others are making things worse. Not at all. I’m simply saying that we developed a plan, and we’re sticking to it.
That said, USPA President Steve Uslan, who is also an Angel Flight member, was assigned a flight by Angel Flight for Monday, September 19, to transport an individual within the state of Texas. He requested the transport be made via the Lago Vista Airport in Texas (see the appeal from Lago Vista Mercy Flights received by USPA through TPA 9/14/05, http://70.179.238.150:81/uspanews/) so that he could then take a load of freight to Slidell, LA, helping with that effort. Steve arranged to have seats removed from his Cessna 206 following the passenger transport, allowing more room for freight. However, he has since been advised that the total amount of supplies to transport (30 tons) would fill a semi, and that plans may be made to do just that, canceling the need for small planes, his included.
Why am I bothering you with all this information? I guess it’s because most USPA members (as all Americans) are feeling the frustration of wanting to help and finding our outreach is not being accepted. We feel we could do more, but are not wanted. We know we could help, but we feel restrained by the need to “follow the plan.”
But please remember that money is always needed by the organizations which are participating, now and in the long term. This disaster is not short lived. We can give money, we can provide housing and jobs, we can remain ready with our planes for future emergencies, and we can hold all those affected by Katrina up in our prayers.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA