By: L. Cramer
Frank Mann Jr., an East Cobb resident, has logged more than 1,000 flying hours since getting his pilot’s license in 2020, and he doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon which is why when the opportunity to help the victims in Helene’s aftermath was presented to him, he said “absolutely; without question.”
Shortly after Helene moved out of North Carolina and the flood waters started to recede, many of the mountain communities could not receive supplies because their airports had been washed away or were extremely muddy and water logged. So, when Casey Millsaps, a Cherokee County resident, started organizing Georgia pilots in those first crucial days after the storm for Operation Airdrop, naturally Frank was onboard.
Frank, also known as FactoryPilot117 on TikTok, has specialized training as a mountain pilot and owns a PA18 Super Cub, known as the “backbone of Alaska”, an Alaskan bush plane that has larger-than-normal tires which allowed him to land in some of the muddiest areas in the North Carolina Mountains. Typically, Frank shares videos of flights, dirt bikes and dogs, which is why when he landed in a small field called Shiflet Field Airport in Marion County North Carolina, he started filming the destruction and mud everywhere.
The majority of the airport field runway had been washed away by water, which is why no other planes or helicopters could land until the area dried out more.
“It was pretty emotional,” Frank said of landing in the washed out field that was once a small airport. “I was trained as a bush pilot, and it’s kind of a unique skill.”
As Frank videoed the mud and the damage, the people of the small mountain community started coming out to the plane and thanking him for bringing supplies; he had been the first person to come help them and that was 4 days after Helene hit North Carolina.
“They all had this look on their face of shock,” Frank said as he equated the expression of the locals to old film reels one would see of prisoners of war who had that expressionless face.
When Frank asked one young man how everyone was doing, he did not expect the response he received.
“He said ‘sir I have a landscape company and my boys have my excavator and they are out there right now helping dig cars out of the mud and people are entombed inside those cars.”
The young man explained to Frank that Chimney Rock, North Carolina, was decimated and trees were down everywhere. “It was a heavy experience to hear,” Frank recalled.
But, as we’ve seen, the people of North Carolina are resilient; Frank explained that the small community around the airport was already clearing trees, roads and digging their way out of the chaos that Helene dropped on them – and that effort continues to this day.
Frank made numerous drops all over North Carolina through Georgia’s efforts to help the victims of the hurricane – several of which were to Shiflet Field Airport.
“The outpouring of support by people was really nice,” Frank said of the supplies at each airport as all the pilots that Casey Millsaps had under his direction hopped from place to place last week. “It was a very moving time.”
As the reports of the devastation started circulating online, people from all over the southeast wanted to pitch in, driving a huge influx of supplies and money that Casey and his team of pilots, including Frank, took to impacted areas.
“Casey’s a hero,” Frank said. “What a young man that guy is,” for selflessly stepping into an extraordinary situation and coming out on top.
“I’m a big believer that everything we have in this world is truly a gift and it’s not ours,” Frank said. “God has blessed us with these certain gifts we have, whether it be an airplane or a nice car. I think to not share it for the bettering of others is not what it’s for. We’re meant to help one another and be our brother’s keeper.”
As North Carolina continues to recover from the utter devastation left by Helene, the people of these communities will need our help for years to come. If you are interested in giving to a nonprofit, I have personally given to MercuryOne and Swannanoa Church who have boots on the ground right now and will be there as these areas and people rebuild.
