Says Gustav Was First Chance To Test Lessons Learned From 2005 Storms

As Hurricane Gustav bore down on the coast of Louisiana over the Labor Day weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration said its personnel played a critical role in evacuating New Orleans and supporting law enforcement and military flights. Now, as the worst storm to hit the region in three years has moved inland, the FAA is assisting recovery efforts.

Employees from Beaumont, TX to the Alabama-Florida border prepared for Hurricane Gustav by providing a safe environment for evacuation flights and securing vital air traffic equipment. This included evacuating more than 4,350 critically ill patients from New Orleans and making sure radar equipment was operating properly before and after the storm.

Overall, a record 1.9 million people evacuated the Gulf Coast.

Gustav, which made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane near Cocodrie, LA, packed sustained winds of 115 mph. It was the biggest storm to hit the region since Katrina and Rita in 2003.

The FAA says it incorporated lessons learned from those two storms in planning for future hurricanes in the region, but the plans had not been operationally tested until Gustav.

Gustav threatened more than 300 National Airspace System facilities, including 13 FAA control towers. Though many airfields were hit with floodwaters, those facilities largely escaped the brutal damage seen in the aftermath of the 2005 storms.

The FAA said air traffic control towers quickly reopened to support post-Gustav recovery, including medical flights, search and rescue and other law enforcement and military operations. Several carriers expect to resume commercial service to the New Orleans area by late Thursday.

FMI: www.faa.gov