The Haitian situation is exactly why we need general-aviation airports here at home

[krispos42]

If you'll recall, a few months ago there was a short but fairly intense debate over government money being spent on smaller municipal airports, also called general-aviation airport and, mistakenly, "private airports".

These are airports that do not serve as airline hubs, and are used largely by private pilots, charter aircraft, cropdusters, and flight-training schools.


Well, the situation is Haiti is EXACTLY why such a large network of smaller airfields is critical to our safety in emergency situations.

Port-au-Prince has, if you've been watching Rachel, only a single runway with apron space for perhaps a dozen jets, and access is by a single road. All the relief for some 3 million people is dependant on that single runway and that access road.


Can such an event happen here? Of course it can. And it has. And it will. And our network of smaller, diverse, general-aviation airports will be instrumental in flying in rescuers and flying out refugees and casualties.


My town has an airport, a small, quiet one. But it is paved and illuminated, and long enough and wide enough for both C-130 and C-17 cargo aircraft to operate from. If there was a major crisis around in the area north of the Twin Cities, my town would be one of several where relief effort logistics could flow through.


I don't anticipate that, thank FSM... I'm not in an earthquake or hurricane zone. But it's there in case it is needed.

The same is true all across the country. If Port-au-Prince had a dozen or so smaller airports scattered around its metro area, aid would be getting in and getting around significantly faster than it is now.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I agree 100%! Recommended!

[JVS]

2. I thought that in cases of emergency the interstates were to be used as emergency air strips

If you drive along I-80 in Indiana, you'll notice a lot of buildings that look like conning towers along the road.

[krispos42]

3. Depends on the interstate, I guess

Some parts have too much median or too many bridges. Besides, if the interstate is being used for a runway, it can't be used for truck traffic.

[Robb]

10. I thought this too

...Turns out not to be true, though.

[KharmaTrain]

4. There's The Problems Of Ground Transportation

You are correct...the airstrip in Port-Au-Prince is smaller than the municipal and private airports in my area. It definitely is not equipped to handle the volume of traffic needed to bring supplies to all those in need. There are other strips around the country, but the destruction of roads and breakdown of civil authority seems to be adding to the problem.

The best airstrips are in the Dominican Republic and I'm glad to see how that country has taken a lead in the relief efforts and should be a big conduit once lines of communications and roads are restored.

One doesn't need airports when there are few tourists...the problem you site is systemic in many underdeveloped countries where air travel is for the privilidged. As we're seeing, Haiti has little infrastructure and what little there was collapsed in seconds after the ground began to shake. Even if supplies are getting into the country, it's another thing to get them down substandard roads littered with collapsed houses and dead bodies.

If there's a lesson in this tragedy, it's to look at our own earthquake prone regions and how prepared they are in the event of a similar disaster. How would our civil authorities handle such a catastrophe. It's not a matter of if this will happen, but when.

[krispos42]

6. Especially on the West Coast and the Gulf Coast

Earthquakes and hurricanes, oh my!

[KharmaTrain]

7. One Can't Help But Wonder...

I not only think about Katrina, but the various hurricanes that bore down on Texas that year. One led to the evacuation of Houston that turned into a fiasco as traffic snarled on the Interstates and, sadly, led to several people dying in some nasty crashes. And, with NOLA, even with several days warning, many didn't or couldn't get out of harm's way. While our infrastructure is a lot more developed than Haiti, such a disaster in this country...one that devestates a major city, would tax services and communications beyond what it may be able to deliver. Again...here's hoping this is a wake-up call for areas prone to natural disasters to look at their own plans and learn from what happens when social structures totally break down.

[krispos42]

8. I think with NOLA, the issue was that nobody was screaming

"THE LEVEES ARE GOING TO BREAK!!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!"

Although somebody should have been!


Because the city survived the hurricane itself without much difficulty. And if the levees hadn't broken, then the situation would have turned into a couple-3 days without electricity while the citizens heated canned food over a barbeque and drank warm soda until the utilities were restored and the streets were cleared.



Of course, NOLA is not on a island and it's part of the US, so establishing authority and being close to supplies helped. Not that Bush incompetence didn't fight those advantages as best they could...

[KharmaTrain]

11. Nagin Screamed Too Late...

Even then, there were many who had no place to go. Get on a bus to where? Even after Katrina there were areas that weren't willing to take the refugees. Those who didn't have cars or family elsewhere were stuck...especially the poorest who were hesitant to walk away from all they had...leaving their homes open to looting. When I was in NOLA in '08 I asked several people who stayed why they did...most answered this was their home and they had nowhere else to go. Yes, many didn't heed the warnings, but many believed the levees would protect them until all of a sudden their homes were underwater...in many cases the water rose in a matter of an hour. I-10 began a river...impossible to use for any escape or the distribution of relief.

It's easy to conjecture...and many have...as to how different things may have been had there been a better evacuation plan, but even when the evacuation order was given and there was still time to get out, many decided to take their chances...and to be honest, if I were in their position, I may have done the same thing.

While mahy like to think of Katrina as a natural disaster...just like Haiti, the complications are all man-made.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. K&R. Very well stated...

:thumbsup:

[niyad]

9. k and r

[malaise]

12. I remember that debate well

For the record Haiti has five airports. I'm trying to find out the extent of damage over at Cap Haitien which is also a paved international airport. I'm pretty sure Jacmel was destroyed - they were devastated.

[blondeatlast]

13. I'm thinking about Phoenix now--we have five airports (which gresw out of cropdusting

facilities) besides Sky Harbor International. It's quite clear how well served we would be in a situation like that.

I really appreciate all the information from people who know what's involved in this effort in terms of logistics and planning. It really offers some great perspective on what a truly monumental task this is.

GREAT read, thanks. k/r