Fleeing From Hurricane Irma

Although we usally report on Embry-Riddle in terms of their engineering courses connected to MRO, this story is worth telling.

In a last-minute bid to escape the expected ravages of Hurricane Irma in Florida, 62 flight instructors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida flew a fleet of small airplanes to two locations in Alabama.The pilots flew 44 Cessna 172s, 9 multi-engine Diamond 42s, 8 Piper Arrows, and 1 Beechcraft Baron aircraft through a thick band of rain, to Auburn University and Atlantic Aviation.

Dr. Ken Byrnes, chair, Flight Department, Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus said that the logistical planning of the move was complex

“We plan to have the fleet back by Tuesday for a Wednesday morning class…we’re watching where the storm is going and it will be in the Auburn area as a tropical depression. So, we’ll have to coordinate departing Auburn and getting back here in a timely manner. If we can’t safely do it, we’re not going to do it.”

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