Bahamas Habitat relief headquarters in Nassau, Bahamas |
Supplies at Bahamas Habitat in Nassau are organized for delivery to Haiti and sorted according to destination |
Supplies at Bahamas Habitat in Nassau originate at warehouses within the U.S. and arrive daily in Nassau |
Volunteer pilots gather for breakfast and a briefing before launching on supply flights to Haiti |
Plane & Pilot's Jessica Ambats and Marc Lee with Bahamas Habitat's Abraham McIntyre and Matt Hansen at the Nassau headquarters |
Loading tents into a Piper Navajo for our first flight to Haiti on Feb 8 into Jacmel |
Supplies run the gamut from food and medical supplies to tents and toys |
1200 lbs of supplies per flight were transported by this Piper Navajo |
Volunteers load supplies into a King Air |
Cameron King of Bahamas Habitat assists volunteers before each flight |
Flight plan from Nassau (MYNN) to a fuel stop at Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (MBPV) |
SPOT tracker shows the flight path from Nassau, Bahamas, to Jacmel, Haiti, in a Piper Navajo |
Bahamas Habitat provides customized airport information for volunteer pilots |
Jessica Ambats and Michael Mancuso en route to Jacmel in Patrick Dolan's Piper Navjao |
The Piper Navajo's cabin is filled with 1200 lbs of tents, medical supplies and food |
Free food is provided daily for relief workers at Provos, the FBO at Providenciales, Turks and Caicos |
Approaching Haiti en route to Jacmel (MTJA) |
The Garmin 430's terrain screen displays Haiti's many rugged mountains |
Low level clouds in mountainous terrain en route to Jacmel |
Low level clouds in mountainous terrain en route to Jacmel |
The earthquake epicenter in Port-au-Prince is on the flight path to Jacmel |
The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince |
With Port-Au-Prince reduced to rubble, tents and tarps serve as shelters |
A Canadian C-130 drops off an Oshkosh Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) truck and additional equipment at Jacmel |
SPOT tracker marks our arrival at Jacmel, where it is estimated that 70% of the homes were damaged |
The Jacmel Airport in southern Haiti has a 3300-ft airstrip |
The Canadian military has set up a base at Jacmel Airport |
An air traffic controller with the Canadian military oversees flight operations at Jacmel Airport |
Our plane, N35580, was one of many supply missions to arrive at Jacmel that day |
Relief efforts in progress at Jacmel Airport |
Michael Mancuso helps unload the Piper Navajo at Jacmel |
Tents are unloaded from Patrick Dolan's Piper Navajo at Jacmel |
Patrick Dolan's Piper Navajo at Jacmel Airport |
A King Air next to the runway at Jacmel Airport, where it suffered a landing accident |
The Canadian military has set up a base at Jacmel Airport |
Relief efforts in progress at Jacmel Airport |
Relief efforts in progress at Jacmel Airport |
A tent city set up by the Canadian Army for those who have lost their homes |
It's still unsafe to enter most building so tents are everywhere |
Crowded and unsanitary conditions contribute to the many problems in Jacmel, near Port-au-Prince |
Cooking fires and scarce water mark most of these tent cities |
Different kinds of materials are improvised to make shelters |
Young Haitians in the tent city ask us to take their photo |
Young Haitians in the tent city ask us to take their photo |
Young Haitians in the tent city ask us to take their photo |
Damage looks completely random, as rubble lies strewn next to intact buildings. |
It is estimated that 70% of the homes in Jacmel were damaged |
Rubble everywhere makes streets difficult to use |
The Jacmel Hospital suffered extensive damage from the earthquake |
Remains of the pediatric ward at the Jacmel Hospital |
A structure at the Jacmel Hospital is labeled as unsafe |
Patients are housed in tents at the Jacmel Hospital, which suffered extensive damage from the earthquake |
We were told that graves were being dug at the Jacmel Hospital, not for the already dead, but in anticipation of future patient deaths |
A UNICEF vehicle suffered damage from the earthquake |
Initial relief efforts at Jacmel were slow due to lack of supplies and focus on Port-au-Prince |
Motorbikes are the most common form of transportation in Jacmel |
Riviere de la Cosse in Jacmel |
Riviere de la Cosse in Jacmel |
A sign in Jacmel reads "Kidnapping = More Hunger" |
In January 2010, Choice Hotels announced they plan to open a Comfort Inn in Jacmel, the first chain hotel to be opened there in a decade |
Residents of Jacmel look through the gate at Jacmel Airport, which is being used as a base by the Canadian military |
Departing Jacmel (MTJA) to get fuel in Providenciales (MBPV) and return to Bahamas Habitat base in Nassau (MYNN) |
161.9 nm to go to a fuel stop at Providenciales (MBPV) |
The leg from Jacmel to Providenciales takes pilots over water for approximately 120 nm |
After sunset, all flights in the Bahamas must be IFR |
Our second supply flight, on Feb 9, is to Les Cayes. The airport is not in the database, so we fly direct to the NDB |
"How to fly to Les Cayes" by a Bahamas Habitat volunteer pilot |
The Caribbean shoreline is always stunning |
SPOT track into and from Les Cayes - at its closest point, Haiti is only 45 nm east of Cuba |
SPOT track marks our position on the ramp at Les Cayes Airport, where we unloaded supplies from a Piper Navajo and Beechcraft Baron |
Les Cayes is 70 nm southeast of Port-au-Prince and features a passenger terminal |
Les Cayes Airport is an expansive and picturesque valley, adjacent to a mountain ridge - Runway 8/26 is in good shape. |
Young children line the fence at Les Cayes Airport to ask pilots for food |
This young Haitian made a stoic pose after asking us to take his photo |
Supplies are unloaded from the Navajo and Baron at Les Cayes Airport |
Many supplies are bound for an orphanage in Les Cayes |
The ramp at Les Cayes is in good condition |
After landing at Les Cayes, we discovered a broken spinner bulkhead on the right engine of the Piper Navajo |
Marc Lee joins volunteer pilot Tim Ormsby, who flew his Baron from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to help with the relief effort |
Each day is a long one for volunteer pilots, who typically fly 8 hours roundtrip from Nassau to Providenciales to Haiti |
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