2024 A Look Back: First in flight award
Crystal Cochran photo
After Hurricane Helene rocked the eastern reaches of Western North Carolina, Crystal Cochran sprang into action.
A resident of Sylva, mother and Gold Star military wife, Cochran jumped at the opportunity to aid in efforts by Operation Airdrop to get supplies into Western North Carolina and distributed to the hardest hit areas in the region.
During the height of the supply mission, the Jackson County airport was buzzing with air traffic and volunteer power. On the busiest day, there were 188 takeoffs and landings in just nine hours. This means there was an aircraft operation every two minutes and 52 seconds. For comparison, Asheville Regional Airport averages one flight every six minutes and 30 seconds.
At noon on Monday, Oct. 7, the last day of flights from Operation Airdrop in Jackson County, there had already been 650 flights in just eight days. Flight missions by private, volunteer pilots continued through Thursday, Oct. 10, with one couple alone making 22 trips to deliver supplies.
Planes came in from across the country, near and far, places like Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Idaho, South Carolina, Connecticut, North Dakota, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts and Texas.
Cochran was instrumental in organizing the army of volunteers on land, and in the skies, to help out after Helene’s destruction.
