Wright Patt C-17 hurricane relief flights to go on
Transport jetswill likely keep flying in aid forweeks.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR
Powerful FORCE BASE — hurricanes that barreled through Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands leaving a deadly swath of destruction will likely keepWright-Patterson C-17 transport jets flying relief missions for weeks, a unit official said Thursday.
The Air Force Reserve 445th Airlift Wing has had an average of a flight a day since the first mission to Texas launchedAug. 30 after HurricaneHarvey left widespread flooding in thewake of a deluge of record rainfall, the official said.
Between the 17 missions flown after hurricanes Harvey, Irma andMaria through Wednesday, the wing has transportedmore than 650 passengers and hauledmore than 1.3 million pounds of cargo, figures show.
“We’ve been incredibly busy,” said Lt. Col. Bryan M. Bailey, director of operations for the 89th Airlift Squadron, part of the 445th AirliftWing based at Wright-Patterson. “We’ve had an airplane airborne in support of hurricane relief every day.”
Eachmission often has several legs, or separate flights: C-17 crews have picked up troops, first responders and supplies and flown to hurricane-ravaged areas, he said. Amongotherspots, theworkhorse airlifters have landed in recent weeks in Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Delaware, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Honduras.
Wright-Patt C-17s transported thousands of packages of meals-ready-to eat, water, sleeping cots, farm combine-sized forklifts, power equipment and other supplies, according to wing spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cynthia Harris.
“We’ve basically been in surge operations and making it happen with extra volunteers,” Bailey said. “...The sense of urgency is shown through the volunteerism thatwe’vehadbecause this is abovewhatwe normallydo.”
FlightsheadedtoSt. Croix, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico leftWednesday with an 18th mission set to take off Thursday for Puerto Rico, officials said.
The wing is postured on alert status for relief flights through the end of October, Bailey said. “It might be longer,” the C-17 pilot added.
The Wright-Patterson reserve wing has nine C-17 Globemaster III airplanes that flymissions around the globe.