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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Dennis R. White makes this comment
Thursday 10 June, 2010
Best, Dennis R. White
Randy Bernsen makes this comment
Thursday 13 May, 2010
Florence makes this comment
Wednesday 17 February, 2010
FOR HAITI AID TRANSPORTS
We have gathered goods (medical supplies, food, clothes and school books) in Clearwater Florida and need your help to transport them to orphans who are in desperate need. Shipping is still extremely difficult.
Clearwater volunteers working in Haiti found three collapsed orphanages. They are working with the locals to rebuild and give a home to these children. They are still there, caring for over 170 children. They need our help urgently.
Please donate your time and/or plane to ship materials to Haiti. We can organize transportation with trucks from Port-au-Prince airport to the orphanage.
Thank You!
Florence Marie Vanleuven
Call me at 727-776-0773 or email florencetheglobalpioneers@gmail.com
Check our website: www.thefutureofhaiti.org