The First Relief Flight - January 13, 2020
Sunday, January 12, 2020, marks the 10th anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The magnitude 7.0 quake occurred at 4:53 pm, local time, in Léogâne (approx. 25 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince). While Missionary Flights International (MFI) had a plane on the ground that day, they were on their return flight home when the disaster hit.
The months following the earthquake, MFI was heavily involved in disaster relief and logistics with missions and agencies transporting supplies from U.S. soil. Stories of their experience and the partnerships that were established to meet the immediate needs were compiled into a work titled Shaking Ground Unshakable Faith: Stories of God at Work in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort.
The following story is an account from Ric Hallquist, then a DC-3 Captain for Missionary Flights International. Today, Ric still serves at MFI in a part-time capacity performing light maintenance, handling mail, and loading cargo.
First Relief Flight - January 13, 2010
Late that first night after we received the news of the earthquake, only two things were certain: Samaritan’s Purse wanted a survey team flown to Port-au-Prince the next day, and Wes Norton and I were scheduled for that flight. We had good reports from Port-au-Prince that the runway itself was intact. However, when we took off on Wednesday morning, we had very little information about air traffic control, fuel availability, runway lighting, the terminal building’s condition and lighting conditions. It was imperative that we arrive before sunset. We were cutting it close.
As we approached Haiti, the weather was good so we cancelled our instrument flight plan and proceeded on a visual flight to Port-au-Prince. As it turned out, this facilitated our arrival tremendously. Getting closer to Port-au-Prince, we could hear numerous aircraft on instrument flight plans being put into holding patterns at various points and altitudes by the overworked Haitian controller. Only one radio frequency was in operation and it was nearly overwhelmed with numbers aircraft looking for landing instructions. The controller, considering the difficult circumstances, did a decent job sorting out the aerial traffic jam and worked us in with little delay. We didn’t realize how difficult it was until we heard the controller asking aircraft to report when they had cleared the runway after landing. There was no operating control tower. Haitian civil aviation had done an admirable job to get the airport up and running considering the conditions.
We managed to touch down about ten minutes before sunset and typical of the tropics, it quickly became dark. The main terminal ramp was crowded with numbers aircraft but we managed to find a parking spot on the eastern half. Our first problem was to make contact with Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM) who had graciously volunteered trucks and a crew to provide transportation and handling for our load and passengers. I began to search the nearly half mile long ramp for the BHM people in the dim light amongst the throng of aircraft, relief supplies, and workers. To our pleasant surprise, the authorities had managed to get power to the airport. There was lighting in the building and on the runway.
All the airport buildings I could see where still standing, but most had sizable cracks in their walls. For this reason and for fear of aftershocks, most of all the work was conducted outside, which contributed to the crowded conditions on the ramp. Shortly into my search, I cam across a familiar face. Daniella, who works for Haitian civil aviation, was working. She looked exhausted and emotionally drained. I greeted her with a hug and asked about her family. She said they were all okay, but things were very difficult. She kindly took time to help me look for the BHM people.
After a fruitless search down the ramp and outside the terminal, I thanked Daniella and walked back to our airplane. In the meantime, the BHM people had found us and were there with Wes unloading the airplane.
In the midst of all this, the next surprise was the fuel man coming up and asking us if we wanted fuel. Because of the runway lights and fuel, we were able to fly home that night. This day was the beginning of many long days and nights for so many who became involved in the work.
God had worked out so many of the little details we could not control. Considering the scope of the need following the earthquake, it left one with a sense of overwhelming inadequacy. In the coming weeks we saw God supply and work in amazing ways as so many Christian organizations and individuals came together to help meet the needs.
