By Jay Carpenter
Texas Aviation Association
EAST TEXAS (Nov 2005)-Hurricane Rita slammed into the East Texas coast on Friday evening, September 23, 2005. The storm brought destructive winds, hail, rain and flooding that enveloped hundreds of square miles. Recovery efforts are ongoing and will continue for some time to come. Texas airports and general aviation played a vital role in the evacuation of people prior to the hurricane’s arrival and recovery efforts in the wake of the storm.
Government agencies had received a preview of the destructive force that a Category 4 Hurricane can deliver when Katrina hammered Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama a few weeks before. In Texas, a mandatory evacuation was declared from Corpus Christi to the Louisiana border. Highways out of the Galveston/Houston area became slow moving parking lots as hundreds of thousands made their way inland in the Texas heat.
Texas general aviation aircraft vacated area airports, and many provided critical transportation to the elderly and hospitalized citizens. Charter flights departed from the Orange County and Beaumont Municipal Airport as late as Friday morning, the day of the hurricane’s arrival.
Rita’s motion slowed down after reaching landfall. Hurricane force winds buffeted communities like Jasper, Pineland, Hardin County, Beaumont and Orange for as long as nine hours. This hurricane caused more damage than the average storm because of the duration of these strong winds. Many tornadoes were spawned adding to the destruction of cities and countryside. Trees snapped like twigs and power lines were downed; thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
Hurricane Rita moved slowly northeast toward New England on Sunday, September 25. Governmental agencies and volunteers started recovery efforts immediately. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Red Cross, National Guard and Salvation Army began setting up command centers. Several of these hubs were located at Texas airports. These aviation facilities were used to import and then distribute food, water, supplies and personnel to most affected areas. Among the more affected and vital airports were Jasper County, Hardin County, Beaumont Municipal-Southeast Regional Airport and Orange County.
Jasper County Airport
Steve Seale operates the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at Jasper County Airport. He is captain of the Jasper Fire Department, a juvenile defense lawyer and owns LEMA Aviation at the airport. Although the airport is over 60 miles inland from the coast, this hurricane still delivered strong winds. Seale recounts his story of encountering Rita. “For over nine hours, we registered 80-130 mph of northeast winds”, Seale said pointing his finger toward the horizon. “The AWOS system was indicating 58 knots before an electrical failure stopped the automated reports in the early morning hours of Saturday.” The weather reporting system was still in operating condition but simply did not have the electrical power to send its report. The Non-Directional Beacon INDB) station and the satellite system located on top of the FBO were also out.
On Sunday, September 25, Steve was back at the airport. Using portable generators and cell phones, volunteers began the long hard work of recovery. Remnants of the storm delivered winds gusting to 40 mph 48 hours after making landfall. These gusts prevented ambulances and fire trucks from traveling that Sunday. Local volunteers with chain saws and tractors began clearing the road from town to the airport. The National Guard delivered food and water in Chinook helicopters from late Saturday into Sunday. Fixed wing aircraft began arriving on Monday bringing back residents and relief supplies. “There were about three flights per hour landing and taking off,” said Seale. “Most were medical evacuations and various business aircraft”.
Seale explained that the airport played an important role in relief efforts. “Although security was low, we made out well,” said Seale. “I was asked over and over again if a C-1 30 Hercules cargo transport aircraft could land and take off here. With a 5,500-foot runway it is no problem for one of those planes to land. However, full of fuel, the range of that aircraft is exactly 5,500 feet.” As with all airport managers, their runway length is usually considered too short.
Hardin County Airport
A little closer to the gulf coast is the Hardin County (Hawthorne Field) Airport. This facility became a major launching point and Base of Operations for repair companies like Progress Energy out of Florida and North Carolina. Progress Energy hired Bodie Myer who owns KAM Services, who arrived on Sunday along with a fleet of 12 tractor trailers from Progress Energy. These trucks delivered tents, generators, lighting fixtures and other equipment to begin repairing the downed power grid.
“Hardin County Airport was the perfect place to base our operations,” said Myer. “There are a lot of hard-working men and women that had to be housed and fed. We provided air-conditioned tents for sleeping, showers and three hot meals a day to 400 workers. Within two days electrical power was restored to the entire area.”
Merf Kaufman, proprietor of Big Thicket Aviation, said that the folks from Progress Energy built a small “city” at Hawthorne Field. The team of professionals numbered up to 800 restoring power energy needs. “The city began on Saturday afternoon with a food facility. Kaufman estimated that 14-18 trucks were on the road at any given hour of the day. A 24- hour security operation was also in place. “I cannot say enough about these fine folks,” said Kaufman.
Kaufman explained that Hawthorne Field-Hardin County Airport supplied the perfect location for these companies to base their operations. The tarmac provided excellent areas to set up their tents and trucks. The airstrip furnished access for military, corporate and other general aviation aircraft assisting the evacuation and recovery efforts.
Bob Burgiss, a Hardin County Commissioner, said that both the city and county cooperated extremely well. Burgiss recounted that the county also enlisted help from the local prison. “As many as six prisoners a day were provided, and they played a valuable role in helping the recovery effort. They worked hard and contributed to the relief effort without any financial benefits.”
Beaumont Municipal-Southeast Regional Airport
Further south on the coastline is Beaumont Municipal Airport. Gary and Barbara Giarraputo own and operate Beaumont Wings, Inc. Gary said that the evacuation for Hurricane Rita got into full swing at 6 a.m. on Thursday, September 22. “We started pumping gas at sunrise and ran out at 3 p.m.” There were many charter flights transporting people out of the area as late as Friday, the day of the storm. “I estimate that we saw 200-300 people departing that day, mostly in Citations and twin props.”
Apparently, the eye of the hurricane passed right over downtown Beaumont. Fuel was shipped to the airport by the following Tuesday morning. Portable generators were brought in for emergency power to run the airport functions. Notice to Airmen (NOTAMS) were given by the Flight Service Station (FSS) that the airport was for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) daytime use only. “The phone service was never down,” said Giarraputo, “and we were able to process credit cards immediately.”
Giarraputo recounts, “The city had its hands full elsewhere with the clean up so we at the FBO did the major chores here at the airport. There was metal everywhere. Giarraputo explained that they hauled about 10 trailer loads of twisted steel out of the area. The airport was also utilized by the city and county as a depot for the mountains of trees and other organic debris being gathered from around the area.
When asked about the economy of general aviation at his airport Giarraputo replied, “I think it’s going to be drastic in the not-too-distant future. A lot of people are not going to be flying because of the losses they’ve had. And general aviation will slow down because of the cost. The guy that uses his plane for business is not going to change, but personal flights and training flights will be out.”
Giarraputo explained that the city was talking to their insurance companies about replacing the 14 damaged hangars. “It has been a pretty hectic time for everybody here. None of the people based here area are flying. They’ve got other concerns,” said Giarraputo.
The recovery at Beaumont mostly consisted of helicopter transports for returning personnel and medical evacuation. MedTran Corporation ran helicopters every day for the medical needs. These aircraft were bringing people back in that had been evacuated a few days earlier. “All in all, the evacuation and recovery went very smoothly,” said Giarraputo. “Security was good throughout the entire area. And talk about ‘dark,’ this area was a ghost town on the day of and the days after the storm.”
Orange County Airport
Orange County Airport is a smaller airport than the others mentioned before, however, the facility was utilized as though it was a major hub. As the hurricane approached, Orange County Judge Carl Thibobeaux recognized the value of this airport’s location as a staging area for evacuation and especially in the relief efforts to come. The judge remembered the devastation to his neighbors in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, and knew that immediate action would be required to help relieve the suffering and contribute to the recovery of his county.
County government contacted FEMA, the Red Cross, the National Guard and the Salvation Army well in advance of the approaching storm. Together, these agencies coordinated their actions to become an efficient tool for the recovery efforts needed in the following days and weeks.
Tom Forman owns Sabine Aviation and operates the FBO at the Orange County Airport; and working for him is Jim Trahan who is the local flight instructor, lineman and merchandise salesman. Trahan kept the aircraft parking ramps and fueling areas clear of clutter and running smoothly in spite of the semi-chaos caused by uncontrolled civilian and government vehicles running around all over the airport. He designated the amount of ramp space he needed to park and service the airplanes that were expected. Trahan spent most of his day protecting that space from people who wanted to use it for other purposes, and which required a lot of tact, diplomacy and patience.
This airport is perfect for this type of project because it is centrally located. Interstate 10 is only five miles away and the airport is close to every point of distribution. A Logistical Support Area, set up by Elgin Browning, consisted of a white trailer where everything from food and water to baby diapers could be distributed in the most efficient manner.
Trahan left Orange, Texas at 4:50 a.m. the day before the storm and drove to Denton, Texas. He kept calling the Orange County AWOS (Automated Weather Observation System) where computers gave weather reports until 12:45 a.m. Saturday morning. At that time the winds were reporting 39 mph, gusting to 51 mph out of 020 degrees when the power went out. A ship, USS Orleck, was docked at the nearby bay. A seaman who remained onboard the ship throughout the storm clocked the highest winds at 165 mph. The ship was turned 1 80 degrees in its mooring during the storm. Trahan recalls, “Once power was restored a week and a half later, the AWOS began its weather reporting again. After returning on Tuesday, we ran this building, the beacon, the windsock lights and the runway lights off of generators.”
The smaller T-hangars at the Orange County Airport survived intact, while the two larger main hangars received major damage. The reason for the damage to the larger hangars had to do with their orientation to the storm’s winds. While the smaller T-hangar doors face east and west, the larger Brown Hangar and the Orange Hangar doors faced north and south. The wind came out of the north and those big doors blew right off. When asked if the planes located inside these large hangars were blown out of the hangar Trahan replied, “No, they stayed in the hangar and danced.”
County government set up the logistics for trucks to begin arriving on Wednesday. It was a system needed in order to get the job done. FEMA, Red Cross and Salvation Army equipment arrived in force bidding for precious space on the airport tarmac. “I don’t want to say that there was animosity among the various agency leaders. It was more like a pecking order that was established to determine where the equipment was to be located,” said Trahan.
Tom Forman, owner of the FBO added, “I just did whatever everyone needed done. Some truck drivers complained about how bossy some FEMA representatives were but, in the end, it all worked out.”
The first airplanes lo arrive after the storm were owned by corporations-McCoy’s, Temple Inland and others-that had interests in the area. Unfortunately, these aircraft were not able to take on fuel because the runway, at 4,396 feet, is not long enough for their insurance requirements. The peak time of activity was on the Monday after the storm. Two Falcon 50’s, Citation Bravos and King Air 200’s all arrived with executives to examine the situation.
Pipeline patrol pilots also arrived with frequency. These aircraft played an important role in evaluating the condition of the petroleum infrastructure. “Those pilots became regular visitors as we were in a perfect location for refueling and resting between patrol flights,” said Trahan.
Trahan recalled his personal circumstances saying, “All in all, I consider myself very fortunate. First of all, I got out of here safely. Secondly, when I returned, I found that my house was not leveled. That was truly miraculous. My airplane was kind of dinged up, but like that Carly Simon song says, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad’.”
The important role that airports and general aviation played in this natural disaster is obvious. Local airports became staging areas for evacuation and relief efforts. Aircraft using local airfields helped transport the sick and elderly out of harm’s way and then, brought back the personnel needed to begin the recovery efforts. Airports became essential areas for the deployment of repair crews and supply distribution. The progress of recovery from Hurricane Rita would have been much slower and more expensive without the utility of general aviation and the airports they use.
