Private TMB And Kodiak Operators Airlift Food, Water, And Supplies In North Carolina

Daher Aircraft immediately jumped into action following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in the Southeastern U.S., as it rapidly mobilized its resources to urgently repair onsite a damaged Kodiak 100 from the North Carolina Forest Service’s Aviation Division at Asheville Regional Airport (KAVL).

The company also delivered a significant amount of relief supplies to the area, as did several other private TBM and Kodiak owners/operators deployed their own aircraft to airlift food, water, and other supplies, along with transporting emergency personnel and animals.

Nicolas Chabbert, the CEO of Daher Aircraft explained during a press conference at the 2024 NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, Nevada, “Daher aviators once again demonstrated their commitment to support those in need during crisis situations, and we also confirmed our company’s own response capability when customers call on us in urgent repair situations.”

The North Carolina Forest Service’s Kodiak 100 suffered jet blast damage at Asheville Regional, and contracted with Daher Aircraft for the urgent replacement of both elevators on the Kodiak’s tail. The elevators were assessed as damaged beyond repair by the exhaust blast from a taxiing business jet.

A set of two new elevators were built by Dahaer’s Sandpoint, Idaho, factory in an accelerated process that included weekend overtime work. Daher’s Kodiak 900 demonstrator aircraft was then dispatched to North Carolina with the components along with Kodiak team members and associated parts and tools.

In between these trips, the Kodiak 900 subsequently transported 1,000 pounds of supplies on a return trip to Asheville, and another 1,000 pounds was delivered on a stopover at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

“The entire process was extremely well organized and executed, especially considering the logistic challenges and complications after a natural disaster on the scale of Hurricane Helene,” said Mike Stevens, the Kodiak Service Network Manager at Daher Aircraft. “This was a success based on a true team effort that brought together the full capabilities of Kodiak Care with our Sandpoint industrial facility and its employees.”

FMI:  www.daher.com/ , www.tbm.aero/ , www.kodiak.aero