Page 7 - Dec 2022

Above, Johnson flying a World Hope International team to Fort Myers, Florida, in October 2022 aboard his King Air E90. They operated desalination plants to provide clean drinking water in the aftermath of 2022’s devas- tating Hurricane Ian.
“I responded immediately, and I ended up flying the very first mission for what became Operation Airdrop,” Johnson said. “At the time I owned a Cessna 421C, and I spent the better part of a week carrying both supplies and people all over South Texas. As best as we can figure, general aviation was responsible for delivering around 250,000 pounds of relief supplies in the days following Harvey. We believe it was the largest use of general aviation airplanes ever for disaster relief and being part of it was simply the most impactful flying I’ve ever done.”
Johnson, who traded his Cessna for a 1980 Beechcraft King Air E90 in early 2019, is now a board member for Operation Airdrop (OAD), the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that formed from Jackson’s effort during one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. He has flown with OAD in support of four hurricanes, including Hurricane Ian in September 2022, the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since 1935.
OAD remains an all-volunteer or- ganization that specializes in de- ploying GA assets for disaster relief. Through fall 2022, OAD has flown well over 1,000 missions to deliver an estimated 650,000 pounds of cargo – from hot meals to cleaning supplies to diapers.
Johnson says there are more than 2,000 volunteers in the OAD database and more are needed. A wide range of aircraft have flown missions, from an Aeronca Champion single-engine light aircraft to a Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet.
“We always need more planes, pilots and volunteers,” he said. “Every time we deploy the needs are different, but the ability to carry a large amount of cargo is always needed and this is an area where all King Airs shine! There are no specific pilot requirements, but airplanes with cargo capacity – both in pounds and cubic space – are highly desired. The best place to get information on donating and volunteering is through links found at operation-airdrop.com.”
How Operation Airdrop Works
Operation Airdrop is a grassroots, scalable, airborne disaster relief that mobilizes quickly in order to solve “week one” problems after a major disaster. Critical supplies need to arrive in hours, not days, and OAD coordinates the flights from a team of volunteers either working virtually or deployed into the affected region.
“Whenever we think there is a potential for deployment – usually a hurricane brewing in the Gulf or Atlantic – we start tracking it and looking at potential affected locations,” Johnson explained. “As the storm tracks and predictions get narrowed down, we alert our volunteer pilots and then will make the call to deploy once we get initial assessments from the ground and from our partner organizations.”
OAD has strategic relationships with several groups including The Salvation Army, one of the largest disaster-relief organizations in the world; Operation BBQ Relief, a caravan of cooks, mobile pits, kitchens and volunteers feeding first responders and communities affected by natural disasters; and the Cajun Navy, volunteers using their own personal equipment to provide immediate rescue and relief during natural disasters.
“In many ways we operate as the logistics arm for these organizations and can provide rapid transportation when the road infrastructure is com- promised,” Johnson said. “We can also do spot missions where the speed and range of general aviation airplanes can be utilized to provide help.”
Once the call to deploy is made, OAD sends a mass email to its database of pilots and starts coordinating airplanes/ pilots, ground staff and supply donations. Volunteers at the OAD operations center are continuously assessing needs, scheduling freight, updating FAA for clearance codes, managing aircraft weight loading specs and fuel burn, identifying fuel replenishment
DECEMBER 2022
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 5