November 2024 - The Comeback From Hurricane Helene

Alex Nelon

Nov 4, 2024 • 3 min read

September 26-27-28, 2024 … dates which will live in infamy

September 2024 was so nice. Weather was fantastic. Our Young Eagles flew on Saturday the 21st and life was good at 8NC9. Then came the storm. Some called it the Storm of the Century. It came up from the Gulf of Mexico and bashed us good, leaving people hurt or dead or without a place to live. Our problems at the Airfield we call home are piddling by comparison but it hurts all the same. We aren’t used to this.

If it weren't for the wind … if it weren’t for the flood. Look at the high water mark on the masonry - that’s over 7 feet! Water has never been this high at the Museum Airfield.

No airplane tied down or hangared at the Western North Carolina Air Museum’s Johnson Field (8NC9) or the parallel Hendersonville Airport (0A7) was spared. Some were factory built, certified airplanes, many were crafted by hand, by dedicated builders who worked for years to bring their machines to life.

The view from the high ground. the entire flood plain was under water and the depth on the 0A7 side reached to 10 feet or more as runoff from higher ground backed up from obstructions - both manmade and natural - downstream.

What could float, floated, then moved around as water swirled in and out of the buildings. Tools, equipment, rags, bottles of oil, all came to rest haphazardly, wherever they might have been when the water receded. Airplanes floated, too, especially those made of wood.

Then came the cleanup. The shock wore off, the work began. Insurance adjusters and their salvage companies that specialize in removing damaged airplanes went to work. It was slow going, so many airplanes not only in North Carolina but all along Helene’s path through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. There was hurt and frustration enough to go around, but we moved on.

Wings folded, loading for the ride to the Atlanta area. Not my idea of a cross-country trip

The weather for weeks before the storm and for weeks after was ideal flying weather. It was just those three days in September that turned a typical beautiful fall into a nightmare for so many who love airplanes. And yet .. And yet .. our neglected, little airfield became a hub for relief helicopters. Our Museum became a dropoff point for donations that meant so much to so many people who were cut off from support. There were heroic rescues and vital deliveries of medicines, food and water among our mountain communities. People who had never known isolation found themselves isolated by blocked roads, loss of electrical power, loss of cell phone service, loss of internet. Radio stations in many little towns teamed up to provide information, the only source for most people in our part of Western North Carolina, and they made a huge difference. We were not alone.

We will be back, and soon. Already there are pilots teaming up to form a flying club and others are partnering to get back into the air. The form may be a little different after having been stung by this beast of a storm, but we will be back. Count on it.

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