Private helicopter pilots band together to help hundreds of hurricane victims

A group of about 100 volunteer helicopter pilots is flying around 400 relief missions a day over North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene, one of its co-founders says.

A group of about 100 volunteer helicopter pilots is flying around 400 relief missions a day over North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene, one of its co-founders says. Matt McSwain says the group has more than 90 helicopters registered to help out Operation Helo, which formed a week ago after the hurricane devastated parts of the state, leaving entire communities destroyed and roads to hard-hit areas cut off. Operation Helo’s goal is to quickly deliver essential supplies including diapers, food, water and insulin. The pilots also perform helicopter medical evacuations and search and rescue operations, according to the organization’s Facebook page and website. In a Facebook post from four days ago, the group says it had rescued more than 400 people from storm-hit areas. “We’re doing the best we can to keep these people alive,” McSwain says. “Our mission is simple: when disaster strikes, we fly,” the website says.