The importance of general aviation in disaster situations was, once again, displayed in the wake of the devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri. After the St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin was destroyed, the Missouri-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MO-1 DMAT) quickly established a mobile emergency room and field hospital. A need for 200 doses of tetanus vaccines was established. The doses were donated by Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, but with the limited shelf life of the vaccines, quick transportation was vital.** **
Using one of the Civil Air Patrol‘s single-engine Cessna airplanes, Captains Pete Pilcher and Gil Franck of the Gateway Senior Squadron of the Missouri Wing flew the four-hour roundtrip mission from St. Louis to Joplin to deliver the vaccines. (more)
