Bush pilots aiding hurricane victims Chandler man heads a mission of mercy
Luci Scott The Arizona Republic Sept. 8, 2006 12:00 AM
A Chandler businessman who leads groups of private pilots on pleasure flights to Mexico is heading a relief mission to deliver food and water to victims of Hurricane John, which battered the Baja Peninsula last weekend.
Jack McCormick, who owns Baja Bush Pilots, left Chandler Municipal Airport on Wednesday in his twin-engine Aero Commander. He brought with him 100 gallons of water donated by Wal-Mart, landed in the mainland Mexican city of Guaymas to pick up food donated by the Mexican Red Cross, then flew across the Gulf of California to an airstrip about a half-hour's drive to Mulege, a town of 3,100 on the east coast of Baja, facing the Sea of Cortez.
Many residents there lost their homes in flooding after the hurricane dumped up to 20 inches of rain on parts of the peninsula.
Mulege is special to McCormick. Each March, he leads 300 to 400 people there on whale-watching trips.
People in Mulege contacted McCormick on Tuesday asking for help.
"They're pretty desperate," he said. "We contacted the Mexican Red Cross, and they said things are critical down there and they need support.
"Basically, the lower part of the town was completely destroyed," McCormick said.
Hundreds of homes, many of them owned by retired Americans, were washed away or damaged when a wall of water came roaring down the Rio Mulege, the river that cuts through town and empties into the Sea of Cortez.
"People were living on either side. Everything they owned was washed away, including some people," McCormick said.
Before he left Chandler, McCormick put out the call for help from other pilots, and he said he expected up to 20 private aircraft from around the Southwest to fly relief missions.
McCormick enlisted the help of Tempe businessman and pilot Don Downey, who plans to leave early today for Guaymas to pick up supplies destined for Mulege. He will fly his single-engine Mooney 231, which he parks at Stellar Airpark in Chandler.
Downey, a member of the Flying Samaritans, routinely flies volunteer doctors and dentists to a medical clinic in the Mexican fishing village of Lopez Mateos.
Downey said other pilots from around the Valley are dropping medical personnel at a hotel in Guaymas, where they will stay tonight until they're flown to the clinic the next day. Meanwhile, the pilots will be ferrying supplies to Baja.
Other pilots going today are Bob Jackson of Ahwatukee Foothills, president of the local chapter of the Flying Samaritans, and fellow members Rick Park of Chandler, Charlie Sheppard of Tempe, Keith Olson of Phoenix and George Hemminger of Nogales.
On previous trips to Mulege, McCormick has landed in the town. But the hurricane damaged the runway, so the supplies have to be picked up from an airstrip that's farther away.
Several residents including Diana Johnson, who manages the 50-room Hotel Serenidad with her husband, Marco Lujan, are helping shuttle supplies.
The town has at least 500 Americans in three RV parks.
"Two of the parks were destroyed," Johnson said.
The hotel also is without electricity or running water.
Thursday, McCormick got word from the Mexican Red Cross that they wanted the Bush Pilots' help shuttling supplies from La Paz and Loretto into Mulege, and other flooded-out towns along the Sea of Cortez. McCormick said he expected 10-15 planes from the United States to help in the relief effort.
In addition to the supplies the Bush Pilots are bringing, helicopters from the Mexican Marines clattered overhead Thursday, landing where they could to drop off supplies.
McCormick said the pilots planned to continue to ferry supplies to the town "until we're not needed."
