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Information begins to flow on GA airport damage
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 Lott International (PQL) in Pascagoula and Stennis International (HSA) in Bay St. Louis. Photos courtesy of Thomas Booth, Jr., Mississippi Department of Transportation. |
Limited information is now available from Mississippi and Louisiana state aviation officials on damages from Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana Aviation Director Anthony M. Culp said pilots are volunteering their aircraft and services. "There is no way we can use them right now, but if they want to register their aircraft or services, they should register on the Web at www.swern.gov or www.nerr.gov and click the red button beside 'Provide Resources.' If their services are needed, they will be called," Culp said. Fuel is available at many of a half-dozen airports listed by Culp as damaged, but all the fuel is used for rescue and emergency operations. The worst hit is New Orleans Lakefront where there is no power, lighting, or fuel. It will be a considerable time before that airport is reopened. George R. Carr Memorial Air Field in Bogalusa, Louisiana, had lots of wind damage. Numerous aircraft were flipped on the ramp or damaged by falling hangars. The airport is so far inland that aircraft owners thought they would be safe from the storm, Culp said. There is no phone or cell phone service there, and runway lights are being powered by generators. In Mississippi federal and state officials still have had no contact with the worst-hit airports but are attempting to survey airports by car and by air. Other than damaged hangars and power losses, airports surveyed so far seem to have escaped severe damage. At Picayune Municipal Airport, a twin-engine airplane was flipped on its side. Power is off, and fuel is unavailable.
September 6, 2005
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