General aviation firms offer quake relief help_美文

General aviation firms offer quake relief help

Beijing Capital Helicopter Co, which operates nine helicopters, is prepared to send one of its AS350s to the quake-hit area. The single-engine six-seater light helicopter can work at high altitudes and is suitable for Ya'an, said Xu Lidong, company president. "We have the power but can't do anything now except wait," Xu said.

Only Xilin Fengteng General Aviation Co in Guanghan, Sichuan, was asked by the Guanghan government to deliver medicine to Lushan on Sunday, and became the only private general aviation company to join earthquake relief work, the company's website said.

The Chengdu Military Region had used 37 military helicopters making 102 flights in the quake-hit area by Monday night, media reports said.

Gao Yuanyang, director of the General Aviation Industry Research Center at Beihang University, said the government did not consider including the general aviation sector in the emergency response system in the past, and it also lacked information about general aviation aircraft locations and numbers.

Military experts believe it is much easier to use the military fleet in the earthquake zone, while civilian helicopters cannot be brought into the military command system, as this would lead to congested airspace.

Civilian helicopters are also usually smaller than military helicopters, which can carry more materials and passengers. Military helicopters usually install more advanced equipment for rescue efforts.