Bell Helicopter Supports Haiti after Hurricane Matthew

Earlier this October, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti leaving a dramatic, vast trail of destruction. According to Reuters, almost 900 people were killed by this tragic storm, but the devastation didn’t stop here. Following the storm, rural clinics are still overflowing and people have been reportedly diagnosed, and some killed by cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage. Hurricane Matthew follows Haiti’s devastating magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 200,000 people and then an additional 9,000 from a cholera outbreak.

A rapid response humanitarian organization, Airlink, has tagged up with Bell Helicopter to provide relief for cholera and famine in order to prevent a widespread health epidemic. Airlink is sending a second large charter flight packed with 175,000 pounds of supplies that will then be delivered to remote areas by a Bell Helicopter crew flying a Bell 429 and a Bell 412EP. The crew consists of Demonstration Pilot, Will Williamson, Chief Pilot, Terry Glover, Senior Flight Mechanic, Brett Buffkin and Electronics Mechanic, Jeff Sorenson who departed from Turks and Caicos earlier today (October 31) to make their way to Haiti.

“Bell Helicopter is proud to support this important effort to help the people of Haiti,” said JJ Cawelti, Bell Helicopter’s senior manager of public affairs. “Helicopters allow us the ability to get to places where others cannot go. And, we’re happy to work with the network of nonprofit organizations Airlink has assembled to deliver much-needed aid as quickly as possible.”

Check back here for updates on the team’s humanitarian aid trip.