Air Charter Service Helps Hawai‘i During Hurricane Lane

Following the destruction caused by Hurricane Lane in Hawaiʻi last month, Air Charter Service’s Texas office flew in more than 132 tons of relief goods as well as a search and rescue team.

This came just months after ACS was involved in flights relating to the problems caused by the Kīlauea Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island.

Richard Thompson is President of ACS Americas. PC: ACS Americas.

Richard Thompson, President of ACS Americas, said:

“The island was still reeling from the eruption in May, when Hurricane Lane hit in August. The islanders were facing sinkholes, landslides, loss of electricity and mass displacement, with many people having to leave their homes.

“We were contacted to transport a search and rescue team from the US West coast to Honolulu just before the storm hit, in anticipation of what destruction it may leave behind. We were able to find a Gulfstream IV able to fly in the eight-strong group.

“We then sourced an MD-11 to fly in more than 132 tons (120 tonnes) of relief goods on two separate flights – one directly after the storm, on Aug. 26, and one a couple of days after that. Much of the cargo was for children that had been affected – on board were diapers and baby food, among other vital supplies.”

This is the second time in the space of just a few months that ACS arranged urgent flights to the islands in response to natural disasters.

In May, ACS was contacted to urgently fly 75 tons (68 metric tons) of the fire retardant ore, barite, to the islands in an attempt to limit the damage when lava from Kīlauea Volcano reached a geothermal power plant.

Now, they’ve dealt with Hurricane Lane and its aftermath, in which the wind speed reached 160 mph and more than 50 inches of rain fell over the space of four days.

“Hopefully Hawai‘i can now fully recover from what has been a devastating year for the Big Island.”