Without hesitation, business aviation did the right thing last month when it donated its people, its expertise and its airplanes to help ease the misery in Haiti. Also without hesitation, NBAA grabbed the baton of coordination this time around with surer hands than it did after Hurricane Katrina.
And also with minimal hesitation, AIN dispatched Stephen Pope to ground zero when the invitation came in from Honeywell PR veteran Bill Reavis to ride along in one of that company’s G450s. Pope’s story on page one of this issue captures not only the logistics of delivering people and supplies to a country in chaos but also some insight into the body corporate and how a swift and compassionate decision at the very top of the hierarchy set the mission in motion. AIN’s momentary hesitation in accepting Honeywell’s offer was our concern that Pope be allowed to participate and not occupy payload pounds or cubic feet in the G450 that could be better allocated. I believe his coverage in this issue of one company’s mercy mission earned him his place on the Gulfstream.
